BCREC Election Update

I am sure everyone has read Ted's letter regarding the BCREC Election tomorrow. I have received several phone calls regarding the content of the letter and I want to add a couple of clarifying thoughts regarding the situation and future BC REC operations.

For those who are questioning what is going on, the RPOF rules require candidates for State Chairman of RPOF to be a voting officer of a county REC. That means the Chairman, State Committeeman, or State Committeewoman. Traditionally, State Chairman candidates who are not REC members typically ask one of those officers in their registered county's REC to step down to allow them to run in the interest of the state party. My understanding is that most RECs are accommodating in those efforts. In Mr. Harrison's case, the only two options are to be elected State Committeeman or Chairman if he is going to run for State Chairman. The broad consensus is that being as Jonathan Hayes just won a contested election to State Committeeman, it would not be right to ask him to step down. That leaves the BCREC Chairman as the only position open to make a run for State Chairman.

The issue for tomorrow's election is that Mr. Harrison is not eligible to run for the BCREC Chairman. To become eligible, he has to be voted on to the REC as a committeeman first, and that cannot happen until the new board is elected. If you wish more detail on the specific RPOF Rules of Procedure and County Model Constitution articles that apply, they will be available at the 1 Dec meeting. Ted has proposed that we essentially vote to temporarily continue the current board until the REC makes a decision on supporting Mr. Harrison's effort to run for State Chairman. As Ted stated, he will run for Chairman and I will support his effort. Hopefully, he will be unopposed and we can move on with a unanimous election for Chairman. Likewise, I will seek election to the position of Vice-Chairman, with the intention of resigning when Ted does for the next election. This should give all BCREC members ample time to consider what is going on and for a plan to be presented to the members regarding BCREC operations should Mr. Harrison be elected State Chairman.

Please be assured that Ted, myself, and the entire BCREC board are primarily interested in protecting the BCREC. All of you have put a lot of work in over the years, and especially in the past two years, to make the REC into an effective political operation. Given the success we had in 2008, and our goal for 2010, we want to make sure there is a strong leadership team in place to support your efforts.

Respectfully,
John Salak