[Wikimedia-l] Why not everyone have the right to vote in the Board & FDC elections?

[Michael Peel]

On 28 Apr 2013, at 21:25, Andrew Gray <andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk> wrote:

> I'm ambivalent about whether it's appropriate to have staff members
> (those who don't independently qualify as "community members") voting
> or not, but I think in principle Itzik has a very good point - either
> *both* WMF and Chapter staff should be able to vote, or *neither*
> should. I can't see any reason that it's right for a staffer in San
> Francisco to participate in the election, but it isn't right for one
> in Berlin!
> 
> (It may be too late to change anything for this time around, of
> course, but it would be great if we could ensure consistency in future
> elections)

I'd like to +1 on this, as that only seems fair to me - either we have an inclusive solution for all Wikimedia organisation staff, or we don't involve staff in the elections at all (unless they are also active community members). Moving this discussion on-wiki would definitely be good, to reduce the chances of this discussion being forgotten about next time around...

BTW, It might also be worth thinking about spreading the community elected seats over multiple years - at the moment, all three are appointed at once, which means that there's not necessarily any sort of continuity in the community's perspective on the board. Having two elected one year, and one the next year, might be a better solution to maintain continuity here.

Thanks,
Mike
(personal viewpoint)