The FA elections committee is looking for a few good members!

We currently have a strong team, but in odd-numbered years—such as this spring—we temporarily lose a few good committee members when they are up for re-election as an officer, delegate or Executive Council (EC) rep since they are not eligible to serve on the elections committee while also running for a position.

The committee meets once or twice during the semester as needed. For example, this fall semester, the only task before us was running vacancy elections in six EC rep positions. Of those, we ended up with just two uncontested elections (no nominees in the other four positions), and those kind volunteers were officially certified at our November EC meeting:

• Full-time PAs and specialists in technical areas and instructional centers —  Ed Champ
• Adjunct faculty in social sciences — Renee McClean

Congrats to our newest EC reps!

In the spring, we will be running those remaining vacancy elections as well, but the bulk of the work comes in early May—typically the first Friday—when ballots need to be counted. Since all six officer positions, the three convention delegate positions and 18 of the 35 EC representative positions are elected in odd-numbered years, there are far more ballots to be counted than in even-numbered years when the election involves just other 17 EC reps.

It’s a really great group of both full-time and adjunct colleagues, whose collegiality and good conversation make those few hours of ballot counting go by quickly. While some committee members are relatively new, others have been on the elections committee for years and know the policies and procedures well, so you can focus on the process of ballot counting.

Plus, as FA Executive Vice President Courtney Brewer notes in the October issue of The WORD, volunteering on FA committees is not only immensely appreciated by your union colleagues it also counts as college-wide service.

And if it helps, we always provide pizza for sustenance!

Please consider volunteering on the FA elections committee. Send me an email, and I’ll make sure whoever serves as the acting chair this spring knows that you too can count with accuracy, you enjoy pizza and you are happy to help out your union.