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

[Carlton Samuels]

I'm looking for "this recommendation" and cannot find it. What is it?
Carlton

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 11:47 AM, Evan Leibovitch <evan at telly.org> wrote:

>
> 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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