Hi,
I still haven't returned my ballot for the AMSAT Board of Directors election, in part because I don't feel that I have really good information on which to make a decision. I would like to vote for a Board that will be effective and strengthen the organization. It is particularly important to select the best possible board because, in my view, AMSAT is an organization in serious trouble. But, I would prefer to base my vote on the recent accomplishments, recent positions during board meetings, and explicit near-term objectives of the candidates. I would prefer to not simply use a blunt strategy of voting against all incumbents and for all challengers. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I really know much about the activities of the individual board members.
To remedy this, I suggest that the close of the BoD elections be postponed until at least thirty days after the following have been published:
o A list of all Board meetings held over the last year o Minutes from all of these Board meetings o Minutes from all AMSAT committee meetings of the last year
We can certainly have a discussion about the appropriate level of transparency for the Board and its committees, and whether the Board is meeting those objectives. Here is what the D.C. statutes under which AMSAT is incorporated have to say on the matter:
Each corporation shall keep correct and complete books and records of account and shall keep minutes of the proceedings of its members, board of directors, and committees having any of the authority of the board of directors; ... All books and records of a corporation may be inspected by any member having voting rights, or his agent or attorney, for any proper purpose at any reasonable time.
-tjs