SFWA Members: Your Election Ballots Should Be Arriving

Posted on March 4, 2013    Posted by John Scalzi      1 Comment

Two neat things that arrived in the mail today: One, the French language version of Redshirts, which looks nifty; and the ballot for the SFWA election, which was aesthetically functional at best but probably more important in the grand scheme of things. I’m keeping the book; the ballot, on the other hand, is going out in the mail later today.

If you are a SFWA member, a few notes here.

1. Remember to vote, please. This is actually important for the future of the organization. Please note I am not running for re-election; you will have a new president come July 1st and other board positions are being contested. Please read the candidate statements in the ballot envelope and make your choice.

2. Remember to follow the directions regarding the ballot, which means placing your actual ballot in an enclosed envelope, then putting the cover sheet and the ballot envelope separately into a second (also enclosed) envelope. If you don’t follow the steps correctly, your vote may be spoiled. Please don’t spoil your vote. As noted, there are directions in ballot mailing you’ll receive.

3. I have endorsed Steven Gould for President of SFWA. If you missed the recommendation, it is here. If my endorsement means anything to you, please check it out.

4. Currently SFWA arranges its board representation into regions; I live in the South Central Region. This year there are two candidate for the position of South Central Regional Director, both of whom I consider good friends and top-flight choices: Lee Martindale, who is the incumbent director, and Jim C. Hines. I do not believe south-central members will go wrong with either choice. That said, I can say from experience working with her on the board that Lee Martindale has shown herself to be an exceptional advocate for members, both those in her region and outside it, and on their behalf Lee has been smart, tenacious, and a clear voice on the board for their concerns, as well as a dedicated and hard-working board member. I respect her immensely, and I was and am delighted that she chose to run again.

5. I am also delighted that Rachel Swirsky and Bud Sparhawk have also chosen to run again for the board positions of Vice-President and Treasurer, respectively. I have been fortunate in my tenure as president to have excellent vice-presidents, and I believe returning Rachel to the board will offer the continuity in leadership that will serve the new president well. Likewise I believe Bud is likely to go down in history as one of the finest Treasurers SFWA has ever had; I genuinely believe him to be indispensable.

6. The organization is also been fortunate with two strong candidates for Secretary, Christie Yant and Susan Forest; I encourage every voting member to read their candidate statements and to make their informed vote from there. Likewise I am thrilled that Tansy Rayner Roberts is standing for the position of Overseas Regional Director; once again, I encourage every overseas member to read her candidate statement.

Again: If you are a SFWA member, please vote. It’s important. Thanks.