Proposed Redistricting Changes

We have had a long-standing issue with many districts getting continuous active participation in running for District Director. Angel LeSage once wrote about this in the 2016 Spring edition of the Fluff “In January, as we were renewing the Charter, we ran into a problem with ARBA requiring that all director positions must be filled.” This has been an ongoing problem as often there are not enough active members within a district therefore, causing the board to ask for someone within that district to fill the position in “name only”.   

After speaking extensively with ARBA Director Eric Stewart, he encouraged the board to help club find a way to assign representation that would accurately reflect our club’s population. He also gave examples of ways other clubs make these divisions or how they assign representatives per geographic district. Some have 3 or 5 zones with a certain number of representatives in each.  The board was encouraged to think about ways to assign representation for our club. The board discussed the various options. There were 8 options, including all of those forwarded by Eric as examples, a couple of that reduced the number of districts to 7, based on population in each area.  The board eventually settled on one of the 7 district options which they felt gave equal representation of each area. Districts were divided into fairly equal geographies based on raw population as well as “active” population of those showing. The districts differ in size geographically, but each has an equal population. The idea is that there are more people in each district to draw from for our board representation, therefore ensuring fair representation for all members.  

There are two proposals and three options that you will be able to vote on put before you. Each of these can be found in more detail further down on this page. 

(1) The first proposal/option is the board-selected proposal (by a vote of 11-1) of 7 districts, split by population rather than geography, so that each district has roughly the same population, and equal representation. Each district would have 1 voting representative to the board for a total of 7 district representatives. See option 1 with maps and list of states/foreign countries assigned to districts.

(2) The second proposal/option is for 4 districts, dividing the country roughly equally in geographic quadrants but not by population. Each of the 4 districts would have 1 voting representative on the Board of Directors for a total of 4 district representatives. In addition, each district may choose to elect two additional members to a district board which is intended to work together with the District rep, though only the District rep votes on the board. The second proposal is put before you by petition that meets all the requirements of the CBL for putting an item up for membership vote. This option was brought to the board as well and was voted out. (1-11) See option 2 with a list of states/foreign countries assigned to each district,

(3) The third option that will be available to you on the ballot would be to vote for No change. 

As an example, for option 1, the CBL wording would read similar to the following: 

ARTICLE V – OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

SECTION 1: The Board of Directors of this club shall consist of four (4) executive officers: President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, and seven (7) directors.  

SECTION 2: One director shall be elected from each of the seven (7) districts as defined by the BOD. (see separate list of districts by state, plus foreign territories) 

How would we make this shift: 

If a change option is chosen, we have an implementation plan as follows:

Implementation plan: A special election will take place for all District Director positions in June 2025, with all even numbered District Directors having a 1-year term, and all odd numbered District Directors having a 2-year term. This will keep staggered elections for board continuity. Regular elections would resume with the August 2026 election for even numbered Director positions, and President. The following regular election would be in August 2027 for odd numbered District positions, Vice President, and Secretary.