Reston Spring

Reston Spring
Reston Spring

Sunday, September 21, 2014

RA's move to a less democratic, less transparent governance process

Last month the RA Board considered a motion to create a Governance Committee that would supersede that authority of several of its standing committees and, worse, set in place a process that would see the new committee select the Board's successors.  On a motion by Board member Richard Chew, the Board deferred action until this month at its September 24th, 6PM, "working meeting."

John Lovaas discusses this proposal in his most recent "view" article in Reston Patch:
THE VIEW FROM OVER HERE
The Reston Association Board of Directors meets the last week of each month. RA’s top staffer, CEO Cate Fulkerson, oversees the preparation of a packet of materials for each meeting--a packet that ranges from 50 to 100 or more pages of excruciating detail and trivia. Recently, one subject caught my eye. It is a CEO/President proposal to create a Governance Committee, which will be the subject of an unpublicized full Board “working meeting” at 6 PM on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at RA. Y’all come!
Since July, Board members, along with a consultant brought in by the CEO, have been skirmishing about the Governance Committee which would sit at the very top of the pyramid of RA committees. This ruling committee would be in addition to the existing Board Planning Committee which currently sets the agenda for Board meetings and is responsible for strategic planning. The Governance Committee would absorb several of its functions, including strategic planning. This new Committee would consist exclusively of Board President, VP, Secretary, and the CEO, whereas the Planning Committee is much more broadly representative. This concentration of power, including decision authority, is one reason why Board members have not reached agreement yet.
In addition, the proposal calls for Governance to have extraordinary powers, such as “succession planning”, including picking a “pool” of people who would be eligible for election to the Board . . . .
Click here for the rest of this article.

We believe the RA Deed is very specific about who is eligible to run for election to the Board.  We don't need a small group among the Board deciding for us who is eligible.  That is what elections are all about!

We strongly urge Reston residents to attend Wednesday meeting and, if give the opportunity, express you views on this vital topic to all Restonians.

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