Recall Petition for the ARRL Southeastern Division Director is under way.

So if you pay $$ to Newington, you get federal preference at the FCC? I think you just made my point.

 

There seems to be 2 issues involved. The first is exactly why Mr Rehman was disqualified. The second was the subsequent action by the board in "declaring elected" the other candidate. I have not been a licensed amateur operator very long, but my BS detector has a lot of years on it. I don't need to understand the first issue to know the second was BS. To "declare elected" the second candidate without so much as a by your leave to the SE Division membership stinks to high heaven. Maybe that is how things are run in the ARRL, but it smacks of establishment elitism in which they know better what is good for us than do the members themselves.

 

I moved to my house (HOA) prior to becoming interested in ham radio. I have been lucky that no one has told me to take my antenna down. With that being said, I f I could I would move, but that is not an option.

 

I also moved into my community before becoming a ham. Love it when other hams like to tell us how stupid we are to have moved where we did with no consideration about how hard it is to move nowadays. Actually hope a parity act is passed but have serious doubts as to whether the current bill is worth all the hoopla.

 

I agree! I have been very fortunate that my HOA either doesn't care or likes ham radio. My vertical is about 38' in the air, so you can't miss it.

 

Try living an apartment...(having good communications with the apartment manager has its perks)

 

Nothing nefarious going on here. Much of this was discussed here several months ago. The basics.

1. K4AC was running for office. He had some strongly/poorly worded accusations used in some of his website and/or email appeals.
2. ARRL warned him to remove objectionable wording.
3. In short order the ARRL decided to disqualify him for office based on his statements.
4. ARRL declares sole remaining candidate as elected by default.

You can debate the matter of his statements and whether it merited disqualification. However, declaring the election by default is beyond any question. Entirely reasonable and proper.

Nobody in SE Division was deprived of any right to vote. The opponent would have been elected with a single ballot cast, even if 99.99% of the division members abstained.

 

Just as in academia, for ARRL...

"The infighting is so fierce, because the stakes are so low."


Uncle Wayne would find much grist for the mill (and sell a few thousand more 73 Magazines with this).

p.s. For anyone under the age of about 60, please understand that much of the procedures, rules of ARRL elections and candidacy are the result of fights and problems that Wayne W2NSD caused in the 1950's and early 1960's.

 

I disagree.

From what I have read so far about the situation, the election process was manipulated to remove a voice the majority of the ARRL Board did not want to hear any more.

1. Nothing K4AC wrote in emails or website was false or without merit. If so, be specific and point it out.

2. After the warning, those statements were removed or modified to the specificatons directed by the ARRL.

3. The ARRL disqualification has never been explained to the membership in detail. If it was because of unchanged "statements", which ones and why? Considering that K4AC was the duly elected INCUMBENT director of the SE Division this is horrible treatment not only of him, but of the electorate that put him there. Too late in the election process for a legit DQ, they should have instead issued a statement of any ethical objections and then allowed the voters to make the final determination at the poles.

4. Declaring the sole candidate left as the winner may fit the letter of their faulty process, but is undeniably suspicious, considering that that candidate was the previous SE Division Director, who LOST the last election, yet no doubt still had many connections with others still on the BOD or in high places within the ARRL.

It is all unreasonable and improper. Along with other recent similar fiascoes, ARRL upper management appears to have once again degenerated into an overly inbred tribe of thugs that prefer to choose bully totalitarian tactics over inclusive democratic discourse.

As a dues paying member of the SE Division, I deserve and want better, and my vote!

73 de John - WØPV

 

As a dues paying member of the ARRL at this time, I have no intention of renewing my membership. This is but one example of the ARRL's shortcomings of which they have many. Their advice in matters of blatant Part 97 rule breaking being condoned by them; "just turn the dial". The ARRL is a useless organization in my opinion.

 

The extended timeline posted by K4AC appears to support that assessment. Granted, he has a perspective, but he did a much better job documenting the issues he was involved with, and the things that were said, than ARRL has done so far. Disqualifying someone based on opinion statements they have made is a bit like having a congressional committee disqualify a candidate for congress based on the content of his position ads.

However, I think a lesson was learned here. People who want to run as reform-based candidates need to save their energy for after they are elected. They should run on polite language, and then bring their more controversial issues directly to the board meetings. I know that's at odds with the practices of modern US politics, but the ARRL's procedural structure appears to require a more measured approach to reform.

 

You are confused. Riley Hollingsworth, FCC Counsel originated that advice.

 

Excellent advice for anyone, anywhere!

 

That's a horse manure comment.