Election Assembly Process
- There will be one period at the beginning of the election, when the résumé of each candidate will be read and their name will be available for all to view.
- All current Area officers and District Committee Members (DCM) are eligible to stand without personal nomination.
- All candidates must submit a written résumé to be read at the Election Assembly by the Election Chair.
- Each District may submit the name of one additional nominee from that District; accompanied by a résumé. This nominee is eligible to stand for all elected officer positions in CNIA.
- Prior to the actual voting for each officer, all candidates will be given the opportunity to decline to stand for that office.
Eligibility of District Nominees. It is recommended that additional nominees from a district be chosen from past DCMs, General Service Representatives (GSR), and officers or committee members who have served a period of at least two (2) years and have remained active in some service activity during any interim period. It is suggested that the principle of rotation be observed when making selections for nominations.
Eligibility To Vote. It is recommended that eligibility to vote include GSRs, DCMs, and current Elected Officers, with one GSR vote per group. Alternates may vote if their GSR/DCM is not in attendance.
Election Procedure. It is recommended that the election be conducted in accordance with the “Third Legacy Procedure” as found in the A.A. Service Manual.
Delegate’s Corner—Election Time
[The following commentary was prepared by a past Delegate for the 1991 Election Assembly.]
In a very short time we will be gathered together at the election assembly. This assembly will consist of the outgoing and incoming Panel District Committee Members and General Service Representatives. Some of you have either already been elected or are in the process of being elected by the districts and groups.
At this assembly you will have the privilege of carrying out one of your most important responsibilities to the group and district you represent and to A.A. as a whole. That is, to participate in the election of the next Panel’s area officers and delegate who will serve CNIA for the next two years.
This is one of the few times we get to take the inventory of others and then act on it. This is basically what you are doing when considering how you will vote. I ask myself the following questions before I vote:
A. Do they have the leadership qualifications described in Concept IX?
B. Do they have the time available to give what is necessary to do the job? (All jobs are different, some very demanding.)
C. What have they demonstrated in the past regarding willingness, dedication, promptness, commitment and reliability?
D. Do they listen, are they teachable or do they already know everything?
E. Are they a good example of the A.A. fellowship and sobriety?
As I look back over the last four years and take my own inventory (which I won’t publish), I have been one of your elected servants and it has been up to me to learn how to serve through reading, listening, and, of course, sharing. It has been up to the DCMs and GSRs to teach me what the area needs, doesn’t need and what it feels. Also, what it likes and what it dislikes.
It takes all of us working together to serve our area and the fellowship as a whole. It takes a commitment to participate.
An assembly would not go well with only half of the area officers present. At the same time, it doesn’t go well with only a quarter of the GSRs present, but thank God for those who are present.
The election assembly is the time and place for all Groups and Districts to speak and participate. The choice for leadership for the next two years is theirs.
There is a question I hear frequently: I don’t know if I should make myself available for election or not? For me the answer is simple. IF I AM GRATEFUL, I AM AVAILABLE—THE REST CAN BE LEFT UP TO THE FELLOWSHIP AND GOD.
Perspective from a GSR
[The following was written by a GSR and published in a District newsletter just prior to the 1999 Election Assembly. The references to the Service Manual are for the latest edition available at that time.]
The Panel 50 Election Assembly is coming in just a few short weeks. It is being hosted by District 33 on Nov. 19-21 in Sonora. What I did not fully realize until I attended the Oct. Area Committee Meeting is that this is traditionally the MAIN FUNCTION of the GSR. Check out your Service Manual, page S45, which states “…the main and almost only function of GSRs seemed to be the election of committee members and delegates.” Awesome responsibility! Of course, now we do so much more for our groups as well that there is a tendency to forget our original and still most important task: to choose the best qualified trusted servants to serve our area and act as our representative at the General Service Conference.
This is my opinion (and we all know the rest of that line), and I’m taking a risk in voicing it, but I’ve been a GSR for about a year now and it hurts me when I go to a district meeting of 20 or so groups and only the same hand full of GSRs show up. It pains me even more when I hear our DCM talk about Assemblies, which GSRs are required to attend (or the group should send the Alternate GSR, see your Service Manual), and only one or two GSRs went with her. (I confess, I am guilty of not attending assemblies; I honestly did not appreciate how important attendance is to my position as GSR. Bear with me, I’m getting to that.) Going to the area meetings was suggested when I became GSR but, again, I had no idea of how important that is.
Are you ready? Attendance at both assemblies and area meetings is important because that is the only way to get to know the area committee members and understand the complexity of their service positions to the group. See, I thought we’d get a list of the DCMs standing for service positions and a copy of their resumes. WRONG. What I have to base my decision on when I vote next month is what I have seen and heard for the last year when I have gone to assemblies (one) and meetings (also only one). IF I had been elected for a full two-year term, and IF I had attended all of the 7 other assemblies in that time, and IF I had gone as suggested to at least 2 meetings a year, I would be able to make an informed decision.
How many groups out there are in the same boat as my group, with a GSR who means well but really doesn’t have a clue as to how important a part of their service to the group going to CNIA functions really is? How many groups out there don’t know how important their financial support of their GSR is to helping that GSR attend these functions?
I challenge all the District groups to elect qualified and willing GSRs this fall. I further challenge our groups to pledge financial support, up front, for their GSRs. After all, if we want that link with A.A. as a whole, if we want our group’s conscience carried to the DCM and delegate and on to the Conference and to the A.A. movement, then we need to encourage our GSR.