by Penny Reeder
At their mid-year meeting, the ACB board of directors approved an online candidates’ forum to take place on the ACB web site, http://www.acb.org, during the two weeks preceding ACB’s national convention.
“This page will actually be a venue for ACB declared candidates to introduce themselves and allow our members to begin to get an idea of who wants to run for which positions and how the candidates feel about a variety of specific issues,” said Kim Charlson, chair of the BOP. “It will work as a read-only web page where all candidates who wish to announce and who wish to participate will be asked to respond to the same five questions. We envision the online candidates’ page as a place where people who want to run for office can allow the ACB membership to get to know them. The online candidates’ page will allow ACB chapters and affiliates to have more information at their disposal before they send delegates to the national convention. It seems to us that the Internet and ACB’s web site in particular afford us a unique opportunity to expand our ACB democracy. It’s an innovation, an experiment, if you will, and we’re very excited about the possibilities such a forum can open up to people who want to run for office and for our members who will choose the first group of ACB officers in this new century.”
How Will It Work?
The BOP has selected five questions which they believe will allow people who want to run for ACB offices to introduce themselves and allow voters to get to know them. The questions are:
1. What office do you seek, and what do you believe your qualifications are for filling that post?
2. What do you believe the relationship should be between ACB's national leaders and ACB affiliates?
3. What should ACB do to expand our resources with respect to finances, members, and leadership?
4. What other strategies can ACB use to make our advocacy efforts work more effectively?
5. What do you personally identify as the three major issues which are important to people who are blind as we enter the 21st century?
Answer each question with a maximum of 250 words. Submit answers in any accessible, readable media, i.e., in print, or braille, on paper, computer disk (in ASCII text, WordPerfect 5.1, or Microsoft Word formats), or via e-mail. Pasting the text into an e-mail message is preferable to sending attachments, but attachments in ASCII text or Microsoft Word will be accepted. Submissions will not be accepted via telephone, voicemail, audiocassette, or in handwriting. Note that we will not edit submissions for spelling, grammar, or content. The only change which will occur to submissions is conversion to the HTML code to facilitate online posting. Submit responses to Penny Reeder at this address: American Council of the Blind Candidates’ Page, 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 1004, Washington, DC 20005. Responses may be submitted by e-mail, according to the guidelines noted above, to preeder@acb.org.
Time Lines
Submissions should be mailed, either by postal delivery or electronic mail, so that they reach the ACB national office no later than midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, on May 30, 2001. When we receive a declared candidate’s materials, we will check the ACB membership database to ensure that he or she is a member of the organization in good standing. The online candidates’ page will be available by June 20, 2001, and will remain online at http://www.acb.org until the morning of July 6. We encourage ACB members who have computer access to share the contents of the candidates’ page with members who do not. We anticipate that the page will become the substance for discussion among ACB members at chapter meetings and other venues where blind people get together.
Candidates’ submissions will be posted on the ACB web site, on the ACB e-mailing lists (i.e., ACB-L, ACB-Announce, and ACB-Leadership). We are investigating the possibility of making each candidates’ submissions available on the national office voice-mail system, and Jonathan Mosen, host of ACB Radio, will utilize the contents of the candidates’ page as a basis for ACB Radio coverage of the 2001 election.
When official campaigns begin in earnest at the ACB national convention, declared candidates will present at formal and informal state and special interest caucuses. In addition, the board of publications will sponsor a live question-and-answer Candidates’ Forum, which will be moderated by Jay Doudna, at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday of convention week. “Our process for electing officers begins at the ACB convention,” says Charlie Hodge, a member of the BOP. “Following constitutionally mandated procedures, the nominating committee will meet early in convention week to put forward an approved slate of candidates. In addition, the floor will be open on Friday, election day, as it always is, for nominations of people who may not have decided to announce in advance. We do not anticipate that this online candidates’ page will alter the customary course of ACB elections in any way. We do expect the level of excitement about our candidates and the elections in general to build to a higher pitch than usual as the dates for our 40th annual convention draw closer.”