[ALAC] ExecComm Mission Creep (was Re: [NA-Discuss] ALAC Mid-point consultation report - Personal comments)

[Brendler, Beau]

"If ALAC is dysfunctional -- which it most certainly is to me -- then
that needs to be confronted directly."

>>I agree. However, the institutional mechanism for change was the ALAC review, was it not? The conclusion was, essentially, give ALAC time to mature. How is ALAC dysfunction to be confronted at this point? I ask the question out of real curiosity, not to be pedantic. There are a lot of questions being asked about creating a constituency of consumer groups. Maybe that's the way for some of us to go.

________________________________________
From: alac-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org [alac-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Evan Leibovitch [evan at telly.org]
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 11:47 AM
To: dannyyounger at yahoo.com
Cc: At-Large Worldwide; At-Large Worldwide
Subject: [ALAC] ExecComm Mission Creep (was Re: [NA-Discuss] ALAC Mid-point consultation report - Personal comments)

I continue to be bothered by the subtle yet steadily increasing role of
the ALAC Executive Committee. I note that this recommendation -- which I
honestly don't recall being sent past the RALOs for comment -- suggests
that the ALAC ExecComm (rather than the whole ALAC) be given the
authority to appoint a Board Liaision.

We were once told that the ExecComm was only needed for issues of
unexpected urgency. Now we see that the ExecComm wants to -- in
recommendations it has itself written -- be given consideration to have
the power to make appointments and decisions on predictable timelines.

If ALAC is dysfunctional -- which it most certainly is to me -- then
that needs to be confronted directly. I had fears that the ExecComm was
created to avoid the messiness of fixing the whole ALAC, under the
pretence of necessary expediency. I now find these fears being realized.

Perhaps ALAC should take a page from the Summit, in which participants
are surveyed (and taking the survey is mandatory) regarding their
subject preferences, then _required_ to actively participate in working
groups. Those who don't do this are denied travel support and ultimately
the ability to be complete participants.

If only the same zeal used to demand participation from Summit delegates
was applied to ALAC itself, then the ExecComm would not need to exist.
Or maybe that is not the goal for some. It is noteworthy that, despite
many months of member performance reports in our hands, ALAC has not
begun to exercise section 11 of its charter (the recall provisions) even
once. I have already found myself as a RALO chair having to take
performance issues of our ALAC reps into our own hands, having exhausted
my patience with ALAC's ability (or interest) to fix itself in this regard.

The Board liaison is the only reference to the ExecComm in this
document. Its presence, while arguably minor, points to a disturbing --
if very slow and maybe not deliberate -- mind-set to give the ExecComm
powers that might be seen to be poorly executed should they be
"entrusted" to the whole ALAC. This trend should be stopped and if
possible reversed. We may have to acknowledge that a very few people
shoulder the load of the whole group, but we need to address this by
increasing participation by all rather than entrenching a special
position for the inner core.

It is clear that the very existence of the ExecComm indicates a failure
of ALAC effectiveness; it seems ironic to point this out in discussion
of a document related to the ALAC review.

- Evan


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