NOMINATION/ELECTION POLICY FOR OFFICER CANDIDATES

Transcription

1 NOMINATION/ELECTION POLICY FOR OFFICER CANDIDATES OFFICER POSITIONS The Board of Trustees recommends candidates for the position of Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer. NOMINATION AND ELECTION PROCESS OVERVIEW 1. Call for officer candidates sent in second quarter. 2. Potential candidates send c.v. s and statement to the Central Office, along with 100 signatures of Active and Life Active members, by September Central Office verifies eligibility of candidates. 4. Board of Trustees nominates up to two candidates for Secretary/Treasurer and one candidate for Vice President. 5. A slate of officer candidates nominated by the Board of Trustees is posted on the Academy's website and distributed to voting members electronically. 6. Candidates having submitted a petition by September 1 and not nominated by the Board of Trustees may be added to the election ballot by notifying the Central Office by December Candidates nominated by the Board of Trustees or submitting notification by December 15 appear on the election ballot for national vote by Active and Life Active members. PETITION PROCESS FOR OFFICER CANDIDATES 1. Except as specified in paragraph 2, any Active or Life Active member who wishes to run for Vice President or for Secretary/Treasurer must obtain 100 signatures from Active and/or Life Active members. 2. The current Secretary/Treasurer is exempt from the signature requirement if he or she wishes to run for Vice President. 3. Petitions must be accompanied by a letter from the nominee indicating willingness to serve if elected. 4. Signatures must be submitted to the Central Office no later than September 1 of the

2 year prior to the election. If the Secretary/Treasurer wishes to run for Vice President, he or she must so indicate in writing to the Central Office no later than September 1. These submissions must be accompanied by a curriculum vitae and a statement of no longer than 250 words describing the candidate s qualifications for the office sought. 5. The Central Office will verify the signatures and forward the names and accompanying information to the Board of Trustees no later than the next scheduled Board of Trustees meeting occurring after September 1. DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF SLATE 1. The Board of Trustees will consider all candidates and will nominate up to two Active or Life Active members to be placed on the ballot for Secretary/Treasurer and one Active or Life Active member to be placed on the ballot for Vice President. 2. Officers of the Academy cannot simultaneously serve on the American Board of Periodontology or Leadership Development and Qualifications Committee. Except for those officers designated in their Bylaws, AAP officers may not serve on the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation Board. 3. Any candidate who is a member of the Board of Trustees or an officer will be excused from the room for discussion of and voting on his or her candidacy, i.e. any Board member running for Vice President will participate in discussion and voting for the Secretary/Treasurer position, and any Board member running for Secretary/Treasurer will participate in discussion and voting for the Vice President position. 4. If there are more than two candidates for Secretary/Treasurer or more than one candidate for Vice President, the Board of Trustees will vote on all candidates. Board ballots with multiple positions would require multiple votes, according to the number of positions needed, in order to be valid. The candidate with the most votes will be placed on the ballot. Another vote will be taken of all remaining candidates and again the candidate with the most votes will be placed on the ballot. REPORT OF CANDIDATES A slate of candidates for elected officer positions nominated by the Board of Trustees is posted on the Academy's website and distributed to voting members electronically. ADDITION TO BALLOT Candidates having submitted petitions by September 1 and not nominated by the Board of Trustees may be added to the election ballot by notifying the Central Office by December 15. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CANDIDATES

3 The AAP will send an announcing the candidates on the first work day in January of the election year. The AAP will announce that electronic and written campaigns will occur from April 1 through June 30. CANDIDATE OBLIGATIONS 1. Candidates must submit in writing a statement declaring their willingness to serve if elected. 2. Candidates must complete and sign a form provided by the Academy that provides a statement of qualifications for the position for which they have been nominated. 3. Candidates must certify in writing that the information provided is accurate. 4. Candidates determined to have provided inaccurate information are subject to removal from the ballot by action of the Executive Committee. 5. Candidates must be accessible by electronic communication ( ). 6. Candidates for officer positions are encouraged to be Board-certified. 7. Candidates for officer positions must be able to commit the required time (approximately days each year for office of the President). 8. Candidates for officer positions or district trustees cannot simultaneously serve on the Nominating Committee for the American Board of Periodontology, the American Board of Periodontology, or the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation. 9. Candidates must complete the Disclosure Statement Regarding Dual Commitment and Leadership Agreement forms. Appendix E Disclosure Statement Regarding Dual Commitment Form Appendix F Leadership Agreement Form 10. Candidates will be informed of the Conflict of Interest Policy. See next section. 11. Trustee candidates must be willing to put aside personal philosophies and biases when functioning as a trustee of the Board. Conflict of Interest Officer and Trustee Speaking Engagements: Representation of AAP

4 1. Officers and trustees may speak at professional meetings, society meetings, office educational meetings and at study clubs. 2. Officers and trustees may not speak at AAP Corporate Forums, since that may give the appearance of AAP endorsement of a product. 3. Officers and trustees are required to disclose in writing offers for speaking engagements at industry-sponsored educational events, including Corporate Forums held at organizational meetings other than the AAP s meetings, to the AAP President and President Elect. The AAP President and President Elect will determine whether further review is needed by the Executive Committee or legal counsel. 4. When speaking or lecturing, officers and trustees must identify that they are not speaking as officers or trustees or the AAP, and their opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the AAP. If slides are used, there must be a slide indicating that the opinions expressed are that of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the American Academy of Periodontology. For officers speaking as representatives of the AAP, disclosures are not required. This policy will be provided to all candidates for AAP office. See Appendix P Conflict of Interest Policy. Strategic Plan All candidates for elected positions will be provided with a copy of the current Strategic Plan. ELECTION CAMPAIGN GUIDELINES Officer Candidate Protocol 1. All candidates will refrain from any public criticisms of any staff members, other candidates, or member(s) of the Board of Trustees (BOT). 2. All communication will be in a positive spirit of collegiality and civility. Subject matter may include discussion of issues as well as promotion of the qualifications of the candidate making the statement. 3. Candidates may use the following forms of electronic media: websites and s. They may use conventional postage as well to contact the general membership. Faxing is not permitted. 4. Personal telephone calls, s and postcards are permitted by the candidate. Telephone, or postcard campaigning by other supporters of candidates, staff,

5 family members or hired telemarketers is not permitted. Mailing labels for candidate communications approved by the EOC will be provided upon request by the Central Office at no charge. 5. Candidates will be allowed no more than a total of four communications - any combination of mail and or and each will include the option for the recipient to decline future s from that candidate. Candidates must submit the four communications they plan to use during the election campaign as a package prior to the beginning of the campaign period to the Central Office for forwarding to the EOC. Candidates will have the opportunity to make a revision to one or two of the submitted pieces for a total of two revisions during the campaign period. Each communication shall be limited to a maximum of one typed page and may be forwarded once to each voting member of the AAP, either personally by the candidate or through or U.S. mail. Forwarding the same piece of campaign material a second time will count as a second communication. 6. The content of s, mail by postage, the letters and biographies mentioned in 3, 5, 9a, 9b and 9c, and personal/campaign websites will be submitted through the AAP Central Office for review by the EOC prior to posting or distribution. Candidates will notify the EOC of new postings or changes on their websites and these will be reviewed by the EOC. 7. Current BOT members running for office will not use district trustee s to promote specific candidates, platforms or items related to the election. 8. Candidates must use their own resources for election activities. Fundraising is not permitted - corporate nor from individuals. Candidates may not organize campaign committees and candidates may not enter into agreements to campaign together. 9. Candidates may not use the AAP Central Office personnel or resources with the following exceptions: a. Address labels will be provided to the candidates, and s sent on their behalf to a limit of four communications. Biographies/CVs (candidate profiles) will be placed on the Academy website. b. Letters to the membership, which will be limited to 1,250 words, will be included in the 1 st quarter Periospectives. These letters will be original compositions by the candidates as opposed to responses to posed questions. They will also be placed onto the Academy s website, which will include this information, the biographies/cvs (candidate profiles), and endorsements from AAP individuals and dental organizations (see below). c. s will be sent through the Central Office to all voting members. A disclaimer will be attached that the communication does not reflect an endorsement of the AAP.

6 10. The AAP will send an announcing the candidates on the first work day in January of the election year. The AAP will announce that electronic and written campaigns will occur from April 1 through June 30. Candidates may attend regional and local meetings from January 1 through June 30 of the election year, as well as contacting individual members via telephone or personal contact to present candidates positions. Mail and to AAP members and websites may be used to present candidates positions from April 1 through June Candidates will submit an expense report to the EOC by July 31 of the election year, and this will be presented to the BOT at the August Board meeting for review. 12. Candidates and supporters shall refrain from any campaigning activity (verbal, printed, or visual) from the podium at any educational program at which they are presenting. 13. If a candidate is invited to speak at a regional or state society business meeting or forum regarding their candidacy, the candidate will notify all other candidates within 72 hours, so that other candidates may contact the society if they would like to attend the meeting. BOT/Officer Protocol 1. Individual members of the BOT may offer advice privately, if they are asked, to a candidate or potential candidate. 2. Members of the BOT may not campaign for a candidate or potential candidate nor may they campaign against a candidate or potential candidate. They may not request signatures for a petition for a potential candidate. 3. Members of the BOT may privately advise other AAP members as to their preferences of candidates only if asked. 4. There shall be no disclosure of any kind as to how a candidate came to be an approved candidate, other than the required report of the nominating committees and Board minutes. That is, there should be no disclosure as to the method of selection of the candidates. Protocol for Other Supporters of Candidates 1. AAP members may support candidates in a collegial and civil manner. All communication content with other members must be accurate. No negative campaigning is permitted. Candidates are encouraged to speak about their platform. There should be no criticism of other candidates and/or the BOT.

7 2. Letters of support from AAP members/dental organizations will be submitted by the candidate to the EOC for review. 3. No more than two endorsement letters may be sent or posted by any single candidate. Letters may have several signatures. Letters of endorsement supporters are included in the total of four communications that may be sent to members. Rules Enforcement/Consequences 1. Any AAP member, including members of the EOC, may report an alleged infraction by a candidate, BOT members, and/or AAP member. 2. The alleged infraction must be sent by mail or to the chair of the EOC. The EOC will meet by conference call, evaluate the accusation, and vote as to whether an infraction has occurred, within one week of receiving the allegation. If the violation was reported by an EOC member, that member will refrain from discussion and voting on the violation. A majority vote is necessary to find the individual(s) guilty of an infraction. The EOC, by conference call, will contact the subject of the inquiry in order to give him/her the opportunity to explain his/her position before the EOC votes. The EOC will make its recommendation as to whether a violation occurred and if so, report the violation and suggest a consequence to the Executive Committee (EC). 3. The individual has the right to explain his/her position to the EC by conference call. The EC will either confirm or decline the EOC s recommendation. If confirmed, the President will enforce the recommendation. If the President is the individual in question, then the President Elect will enforce the recommendation and so on such that if all of the officers are involved and found guilty of an infraction to these rules, then the chair of the EOC will enforce the recommendation. The recommendation will be made known to the membership by e- mail from the President, President Elect, etc. 4. If an individual is charged for an additional violation, repeat steps 2 and 3. If the additional violation(s) is especially egregious, and the EOC makes an especially stern recommendation which is upheld by the EC, the President will hold a BOT meeting by conference call or in person. This disciplinary protocol regarding election protocol precludes the Complaints Regarding Professional Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures section of this Policy Manual. 5. Each candidate will agree by signature to abide by these rules and to encourage others to do so as well. This agreement will be provided by the EOC as soon as a member has been accepted as a candidate for the position of Secretary/Treasurer or Vice President. Furthermore, this agreement will be retroactive to the fall Board meeting such that if any infractions occurred from the time of the fall Board meeting to the signing of the agreement, the candidate will be held responsible for those infractions as if they had

8 occurred after the signing of the agreement. VOTING AND REPORTING RESULTS 1. The voting period will extend from June 1 (12:01 a.m.) through July 1 (11:59 p.m.). 2. The AAP Central Office will arrange for an independent election vendor to conduct the election and compile results. 3. Upon completion of the voting period, the election vendor will report the results and vote count simultaneously within three working days to each of the candidates, to the President, and to the Executive Director only. The President will disclose to the general membership, the names of the successful candidates, without vote counts, by within three working days after the President has the results. 4. All infractions must be resolved to the satisfaction of the EOC prior to reporting election results. See BALLOTS AND ELECTIONS section for additional information.