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Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Resolution for a Fair ElectionResolution adopted by the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Executive Committee on January 24, 2004The Atlantic Chapter recognizes that members of the Sierra Club will not always agree on matters of Club policy and administration. Such disputes should not be suppressed, but should be resolved in accordance with the Standards of Conduct: Club members should "disagree without being disagreeable," and the Club should "[a]llow everyone to be heard and all points of view to be articulated." Furthermore, the articulation of all points of view should take place on a level playing field, with all opinions treated fairly. We urge the Board of Directors to follow these principles in matters relating to this year's Board election. Specifically: 1. The Board has been called upon to devote "Club staff, mailing lists, publications and all other means available" to "endorse, promote and support the election of those chosen by the Nominating Committee." This proposal is antithetical to the Sierra Club's ideal of fundamental fairness and internal democracy. Club resources and staff should remain completely neutral. They should not be used to support or oppose any candidate or group of candidates. Furthermore, this essential component of fairness should not be circumvented in the guise of providing "information" about the candidates or the election, when the communication is tilted for or against specific candidates, whether or not they are identified by name. 2. For the same reasons, chapter and group newsletters should not be the vehicles for electioneering pieces, such as the one being circulated that denounces unnamed (but identifiable) candidates as part of an effort to "hijack" the Sierra Club. The official ballot materials should discontinue the recent practice of implying official approval of some candidates, by lauding the Nominating Committee's work. 3. Because the WILD list of email addresses has apparently been made available for campaigning by one faction, it should be available (this year) to all. There should be no special privileges or preferential access for the former Club Presidents who signed the letter being circulated by Groundswell. The Board should consider sending an email to the members on the list, explaining how it is that their email addresses came to be used for these purposes. The Board should also consider prohibiting or discouraging such use in future years. 4. Although the Chapter disagrees with the undemocratic measures being advocated by the former Club Presidents, our position should not be misconstrued as one of censoring them. We support their right to establish a website, to spend money and to campaign for or against certain candidates. Finally, we deplore the decision by the Groundswell faction to take this internal dispute to the media, resulting in the publication of a Los Angeles Times article quoting attacks by some Sierra Club members against other members. In particular, the article quotes the Executive Director's charge that some Board candidates are "tapping into a strand of misanthropy," a statement that violates the staff's duty to remain neutral. - Jim Lane, Atlantic Chapter Secretary, January 24, 2004 (Editor's note: On January 30, 2004, the 'old guard' majority of the Sierra Club Board passed a series of motions directly contrary to the principles espoused in the above resolution).
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