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Agenda Item # 7

BOARD MEMORANDUM

RECOMMENDATION:

Elect Advisory Committee Chairperson and Vice Chairperson for calendar year 2005 to complete the election process.

BACKGROUND:

The bylaws for VTA’s five advisory committees specify that each committee shall elect from its membership a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson.   The duties of the Chairperson are to preside at all meetings of the committee and represent the committee before the VTA Board of Directors.   The duty of the Vice Chairperson is to perform the duties of the Chairperson when the Chairperson is absent.  The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson positions serve for a one-year term and are eligible for election to successive terms.

The advisory committees bylaws also specify that the Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson elections for Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), Policy Advisory Committee (PAC), and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) are held the first meeting of the calendar year (usually January), and those for Committee for Transit Accessibility (CTA) the last meeting of the calendar year (typically December).

DISCUSSION:

The election process for Chairperson and Vice Chairperson is comprised of three distinct components that occur at two consecutive committee meetings.   The first component is the appointing of the nominating committee.   The second is presentation of the nominating committee’s report.  And the last component is election of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.  Each of these components is conducted during the committee meeting.

Appointing the Nominating Committee

At the meeting immediately preceding Chairperson and Vice Chairperson elections, the existing Chairperson requests volunteers to serve on the nominating committee, which is typically comprised of two to four members.   If there are no volunteers or an insufficient number, it is the Chairperson’s prerogative to appoint committee members to serve on the nominating committee.

The mission of the nominating committee is to identify members interested in serving as the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson.   This is done by securing nominations from members, either for themselves or other members.   It is the nominating committee’s responsibility to determine that members who have been nominated are willing to serve in those positions.  It is also the nominating committee’s responsibility to narrow down the list of candidates for each position, if necessary, and provide to the advisory committee a list of one to three candidates for each position that it recommends.  No formal action is required of the committee.

Report From Nominating Committee

At the meeting specified in the bylaws that Chairperson and Vice Chairperson elections are to be held, the nominating committee provides a verbal report to the advisory committee identifying committee members who have confirmed their willingness to serve.   The nominating committee’s report should also include its list of one to three candidates for each position that it recommends.   In addition, any member may nominate a committee member from the floor.  This process establishes the list of candidates for the elections to be held as the next order of business at that same meeting.  The nominating committee is automatically discharged when its report is formally presented to the committee.  No action is required of the committee other than to accept the report.

Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson

These elections, which are held at the meeting specified in the bylaws whenever possible, are conducted for the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson positions individually and in sequence and are the next order of business immediately following the report from the nominating committee.

For all advisory committees, a quorum is required and the number of affirmative votes required to elect the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson is defined by the bylaws for each specific committee.   If there are multiple candidates for each position, the highest number of affirmative votes determines the victor.

For CTA, the term for the newly elected Chairperson and Vice Chairperson commences at the next meeting whereas for the other four advisory committees it begins at the same meeting as the elections.

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