Membership Notification: Election of LEO Officers

MEMBERSHIP NOTIFICATION
ELECTION OF LEO OFFICERS
JANUARY 14, 2019

According to the LEO constitution, the Union is to hold elections for union-wide officers every two years (Article XI). Union Officers serve the Union Council along with the Campus Chairs. As the executive body of the Union as a whole, the Union Council is responsible for implementing the will of the members of LEO.

Per the most recent amendment to the constitution (October 2017), the terms of the four officers are staggered. Offices up for election in March 2019 are President and Secretary. (The next election for Vice President and Treasurer will take place in March 2020). The duties of each officer are articulated in Article XII of LEO’s constitution, which can be found here.

To be eligible for office, a person must be a LEO member in good standing of the Union for one (1) year prior to the date of the election. All such members are invited to run.

LEO members may now begin collecting signatures in support of their candidacy, using the attached Nominating Petition. A potential candidate’s petition must be signed by at least 20 LEO members in good standing and include signatures from at least 2 campuses. The Elections Committee suggests gathering 25 signatures in case any prove to be invalid.

Petitions must be received by the Committee no later than Wednesday, February 13 at 5:00 pm. A petition must be submitted in hard copy, with original signatures (xeroxed and electronic copies will not be accepted).  Potential candidates may deliver petitions to the LEO office in Ann Arbor (339 E. Liberty St., Suite 340) or make other arrangements with the Committee.

As part of the nominating process, potential candidates are required to affirm on the petition that they have read and will comply with the attached Elections Committee Policies and the Candidate Rules.  According to the Rules, all candidates must submit a personal statement and candidates for President must also submit a disclosure statement – at the same time as the Nominating Petition.

Confirmation of eligibility to run for office will be sent by email to potential candidates within 48 hours after the February 13 deadline.

Voting for these positions will take place online. Voting will open on Friday, March 8 at 9:00 am and close on Friday, March 15 at 5:00 pm.

The candidate for each office who receives a simple majority of votes will be declared elected. The results of the election will be reported to the membership by email on Saturday, March 16. Successful candidates will assume office within fifteen (15) days of the conclusion to the election.

The date for a run-off election, should one be needed, will be Friday, April 12.

Questions about the election should be directed to either Matt Oches (matt@leounion.org) or Netta Berlin (netta@leounion.org).

In solidarity,

Netta Berlin, Ann Arbor
Gina Soter, Ann Arbor
Patricia Hartshorn, Dearborn
Stevens Wandmacher, Flint
LEO Elections Committee