English Chess Forum

Aside from the matter of principle (which is sufficient to my mind) not publishing votes cast for candidates deprives both the candidates and the electorate of very useful information in relation to future decisions to of whether to stand again and who to vote for. It is very encouraging that we have a range of candidates and views put forward in their manifestos but if democracy is to flourish we need the voting numbers!

I do not see anything in here that requires the vote should be secret: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... Laws-1.pdf

It seems to me that the Membership Director is the responsible board member.

Micheal - do you know if anyone has asked Dave Thomas whether he would be willing to report the results?

Mike Gunn wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:18 am

Aside from the matter of principle (which is sufficient to my mind) not publishing votes cast for candidates deprives both the candidates and the electorate of very useful information in relation to future decisions to of whether to stand again and who to vote for. It is very encouraging that we have a range of candidates and views put forward in their manifestos but if democracy is to flourish we need the voting numbers!

This thread has reminded me that to the best of my knowledge the voting figures were never published when Michael Farthing was elected Chairman of Council.

Also to the best of my knowledge, neither I nor anyone else protested about that. Clearly that was an error of judgment. We are now faced with an illustration of the maxim that every wedge has a thin end.

However, Michael Farthing is a sensible man. I hope that he will read this thread and change his mind.

Hi all, Christopher Skulte here. I don't really post much on this forum, though am running to be a Bronze member representative, so thought would do a quick hello.

I wanted to thank all the past representatives for their hard work, and it's great to see that this years positions are contested by many who want do their bit to improve and grow chess within the UK.

Best of luck to all other's in the vote, and look forward to doing my part should I be selected as a Bronze member rep.

In response to Nicks reply

In my experience that generally means that no explanation exists.

Actually I have attended every agm or finance meeting since being in the post regardless of being in london Birmingham or zoom and not only that, have made numerous positive contributions at these meetings and behind the scenes, providing feedback an putting forward new ideas.

I have also replied and dealt with any member query that has been directed towards me since being in the post.


Regards Rob

RobWillmoth wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:35 pm

In response to Nicks reply

In my experience that generally means that no explanation exists.

Actually I have attended every agm or finance meeting since being in the post regardless of being in london Birmingham or zoom and not only that, have made numerous positive contributions at these meetings and behind the scenes, providing feedback an putting forward new ideas.

I have also replied and dealt with any member query that has been directed towards me since being in the post.


Regards Rob

Rob,

At issue was whether you consulted Gold members before the recent Finance Council meeting. As a Gold member I didn't receive any correspondence from you. Andrew Z says the same.

I know you attended the 2019 AGM (in London) and the 2020 Finance meeting (via Zoom) when you were a Gold members' rep but before that the meetings you attended weren't as a Gold rep.

Can you be more specific about what you've achieved as a Gold members' rep?

Hi Angus

Thanks for pointing out your record by referring to the meeting minutes. Reminder I was at these meeting as well and thankfully represented gold members to defeat your awful motion re international chess that was defeated very heavily.

Note you also mention ' his junior chess' Note the Junior coaches and organisers group set up now with over 200 members a vast amount of which are adult gold coaches was not set up for my benefit but for the benefit of junior chess or more precisely for the benefit of the adults ie coaches and organisers that are gold members so that we can improve processing and systems in junior chess which then have a big knock on effect on adult chess. I am very happy to forward the document that was presented to the ECF about this to anyone who wants to see it. I would post it here but cant seem to attach a doc.

Regards Rob

Hi All

You are correct. You did not receive an email regarding the recent finance meeting that i attended.
This was purely my fault. I put the email together and accidentally left it in my drafts email. By the time I had found out it was to late. No doubt you wont believe this.

The reason for this is very simple. I have had my mind on other things due to corona virus. Specifically how to save my chess business from going bankrupt and keeping it a going concern until all school clubs are back which sadly will be at least Jan without any school coaching income at least.

My apologies to members for this one error, from good track record, well at least I think so. No doubte your negativity will disagree.

Hi Rob

Are you under the impression that being belligerent is in some way the opposite of negativity?

RobWillmoth wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:33 pm

Hi All

You are correct. You did not receive an email regarding the recent finance meeting that i attended.
This was purely my fault. I put the email together and accidentally left it in my drafts email. By the time I had found out it was to late. No doubt you wont believe this.

The reason for this is very simple. I have had my mind on other things due to corona virus. Specifically how to save my chess business from going bankrupt and keeping it a going concern until all school clubs are back which sadly will be at least Jan without any school coaching income at least.

My apologies to members for this one error, from good track record, well at least I think so. No doubte your negativity will disagree.

I'm very happy to accept this. The time around the April Finance Council meeting was a difficult time for everybody, and continues to be for many.

As stated my personal view is that the primary role of direct membership representatives should be to ballot those they represent and cast their votes in accordance with the majority vote. For that purpose the motions should be presented in a neutral manner without any endorsement.

There is also a responsibility to liaise between the membership and the board but that is a secondary part of the role in my opinion.

RobWillmoth wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:33 pm

Hi All

You are correct. You did not receive an email regarding the recent finance meeting that i attended.
This was purely my fault. I put the email together and accidentally left it in my drafts email. By the time I had found out it was to late. No doubt you wont believe this.

The reason for this is very simple. I have had my mind on other things due to corona virus. Specifically how to save my chess business from going bankrupt and keeping it a going concern until all school clubs are back which sadly will be at least Jan without any school coaching income at least.

My apologies to members for this one error, from good track record, well at least I think so. No doubte your negativity will disagree.

Thanks for the answer, hope your chess business survives, bit surprised you don't want to concentrate on that rather than being a gold member rep

Sorry to digress but, to save me [and perhaps others] having to go through ECF documents, can someone answer a simple question? Are junior members of the ECF eligible to vote ? If in general not, is the situation any different for someone born 1 July 2002 who is a junior member but now aged 18 ?

Yes juniors can vote in these elections. I have some reservations about this but discovered I was in a minority when the point was discussed on the governance committee or board.

Mike Gunn wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2020 12:38 pm

Yes juniors can vote in these elections. I have some reservations about this but discovered I was in a minority when the point was discussed on the governance committee or board.

Thanks for the clarification, Mike. Yes, the subject of juniors voting on anything tends to divide opinion. I've heard it asked "Do they understand what they're voting for?" and, on occasion, have had to resist the temptation to observe that - on that point - the speaker might usefully look in the mirror.

Indeed, an observation that does not only apply to elections in the chess world