Recall Petition of Damon Suede Received

The RWA office is in receipt of the recall petition of Damon Suede as of January 6, 2020. Chapter and Professional Relations Manager Leslie Scantlebury will be handling this matter going forward. She can be reached at [email protected]. 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? RWA RECALL PETITION

Below is a step-by-step summary of the RWA Election Recall process for easy reference. A complete explanation can be found in the RWA Bylaws (Section 11) and the RWA Policy Manual (Section 18). 

It’s important to note that the policies dictating these steps has existed for years. 

STEP 1: RECALL PETITION IS FILED.

The petition is considered filed when a physical copy is received by the Houston office. To be considered valid, the petition must be signed by at least 10% of the general membership.

STEP 2: THE RECALL PETITION IS VERIFIED

The office now has until January 20th to make sure there are no duplicates or invalid signatures. (To be considered valid, the signature must match the name on the membership roster. That is, the name you registered your membership under.)

Normally this review is conducted by the Executive Director. However, to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest, Carol Ritter has recused herself and this particular recall petition will be reviewed by members of the RWA staff.

If the petition is not verified, the document will be held on file for 60 days and then destroyed. Petitioners will retain the right to file a new petition for verification.

STEP 3: THE RECALL ELECTION

If the petition is verified, the board will meet before or by January 20th to schedule a recall election. The members lists as the contacts on the petition will be notified of the meeting as well.

The recall election itself will begin no later than February 20th and will be conducted by an outside election company.

THE BALLOT
Members will have the opportunity to read a 250-word statement in favor of the recall that is written by the petitioners. There will also be a 250-word argument against the recall written by the subject of the recall. 

When voting, members will be asked to vote either "Yes" in favor of the recall or "No" against the recall. The ballot will not contain any candidates for the position, and no write-ins will be considered. 
The election will be open for 30 days. 

Members will have the option of voting online or through a hard copy of the ballot which will be sent to them via first class mail. Accommodations will be made for members who require assistance to participate.

All paper ballots will be sent directly to the outside election company. 

Once the election concludes, membership will be notified of the results via email no later than March 22. 

STEP 4: IF MEMBERS VOTE FOR A RECALL; NAMING A NEW PRESIDENT

If a majority votes in favor of a recall, the president will step down immediately.

Normally at this point, the president-elect steps up to fill the vacated position. However, since we don’t have a president-elect, it will be up to the board to select someone to fill the vacancy. This person may be an existing board member or it may be someone from outside the board of the directors. This person will serve as president until August 31, 2020.

During the general elections, the membership will vote for both a new president and a new president elect to take office on September 1, 2020.