Nom Com Readies Slate for Vote and Annual Meeting June 28

Our beautiful campus is quiet, but the business of church goes on. We are staying at home; “attending” online Sunday services and committee meetings; and Zooming with friends and family. The spring stewardship drive is crossing the finish line, and the Nominating Committee has continued talking with members about serving our community. We’re working to present a slate of nominees for election at the Annual Meeting.  

The Annual Meeting will take place June 28, 2020. The board, the Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, and numerous staff and volunteers are sorting out the details and logistics of how we will all come together and vote. Online town hall meetings and voting electronically and by mail-in ballot are all being discussed. Watch your email, your mailboxes, and the UUSM Newsletter for updates as plans firm up. 

Please plan to join in and practice our 7th principle, “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”

Who May Vote?

All members in good standing who have been members for at least 40 days prior to the Annual Meeting are eligible to vote. If you’ve been thinking about joining UUSM, contact Membership Committee Co-Chairs Norm Richey or Cynthia Cottam right away at membership@uusm.org or leave a message at the church office, 310-829-5436. In order to vote, new members and renewing members must be read into the church record at the May board meeting. 

Let your voice be heard as our congregation elects members of the UUSM Board of Directors and Nominating Committee.

The Ballot

The Nominating Committee’s slate of nominees for the all the board officers (president, vice president, secretary and treasurer) and two members at large, plus three seats on the Nominating Committee, will be submitted to the board and read at a May board meeting: one nominee per eligible position.

Any member of the congregation who wishes to appear on the ballot may submit a petition for any eligible position on the board or Nominating Committee. To petition, you must be a member for 12 months and gather the support and signatures of at least 10 members of the congregation. This year, your petition can include an email from each of the 10 or more members supporting your candidacy. Your petition and accompanying emails should be submitted to Secretary Norm Richey, membership@uusm.org, for review and validation, by May 19; the final date to accept petitions is May 26.

Note that the board president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer (officers of the board) serve 1-year terms. Officers can be nominated to the same position for three consecutive terms. Members at large serve 2-year terms on the board and may serve for three consecutive terms. Nominating Committee members are elected to serve 3-year terms; we elect two committee members each year. This year there is an extra seat on the Nominating Committee, as Alison Kendall is stepping down. The person elected to that position will serve the remaining 2 years of her term. The Nominating Committee holds gratitude for all the volunteers who step up to serve in elected positions.

Look for updates

The forthcoming Nominating Committee slate and the final ballot with any petitioners will be announced here in the Newsletter. UUSM members will also receive final ballots in the mail; including information on all nominees, the budget resolution, and any other matters requiring a vote. These ballots will go out via USPS during the first week of June. Look also for frequent email blasts with updates on the budget and the Annual Meeting, likely including a new option to vote online. How ever it happens, our voices and hopes for the future will be heard.

Pat Gomez,
Nominating Committee Member