We Want an Election for all
IHAA Officers and Board Positions

The Ice Hockey Association of Austin exists to serve its members. According to the bylaws of the organization, Officers and the Board of Directors are to be elected by the members.

It has come to our attention that the sitting directors have made a personal decision to withhold voting rights for select positions for the upcoming election (our first as an organization). In particular the role of President will NOT be open to nominations or election. As members in good standing of IHAA, we do not agree with this decision.

There is no one specifically supported by this petition as an opposition candidate vs. the current acting President. This letter is not about a specific person but about the ability to take an appropriate and active role in this organization.

We want a vote -- and that may mean that we elect our sitting President to remain for another year.  That is certainly a possibility. But to withhold the right to a fair and open election is not acceptable. With this letter, we are requesting:

·         The opportunity to elect our leadership in an open and transparent election process with
sufficient access and communication around the nomination and voting process is imperative

·         We want proxy votes to be counted as well (this ensures that a parent who is traveling on election day can vote by email – current bylaws do not allow it)

·         The election committee should include one parent from each of the four teams, selected by the team (there is currently no provision for any team or parent reps to be involved. Only current directors have a role in managing the elections as the current bylaws are written)

·         Those parent reps should be involved in the gathering of nominations for ALL roles, including President.  Again, this is not about removing anyone, it is about transparency and member rights

·         Parent reps should also be responsible for managing the counting of ballots and announcement of election results

·         We also want to clarify the value of a member vote by stating that there is one vote per family, per player.  This ensures that single-parent families have the same representation and voice as those with a two-parent household. It also ensures that families with multiple players have more of a vote as they represent additional membership payments.
(Example:  a family with 2 players will have 2 votes, a family with 1 player has one vote)

In short, we seek fair and open elections of our leadership. This organization

was created as a member-based association and as members; we have the

right to play a role in decisions made on our behalf.