March 17,2010: Elections
Happy St. Patrick's Day.
Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) was here yesterday, visiting San Diego Presbytery. We are grateful for the time we had to spend together with him. His visit was the inspiration for today's note -- what is a moderator and how do moderators get elected? Tomorrow, I will post some reflections on our discussion of the introduction of social media on the plenary floor.
How Is The Moderator Elected?
This question takes us back into the Manual of the General Assembly; specifically, Standing Rule H.The Moderator is elected on the first day of the Assembly.By the Rules, the Moderator has three specific functions (per Standing Rule H.1.a.(4), (5), and (6):
- When the Moderator presides at the assembly, it is to
be a sign of the bond of unity, community, and mission in the life of
the church. During the period between assemblies, the Moderator serves
as an ambassador of the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace, telling
the story of the church’s life and upholding the people of God through
prayer.
- The Moderator shall preside over the General Assembly
that elects him or her, and over the meetings of the next General Assembly
until a successor is elected. The Moderator possesses the authority necessary
for preserving order and for conducting efficiently the business of the
governing body (Book of Order, G-9.0202).
- The Moderator and the Vice Moderator shall submit a written report of their work to the session of the General Assembly at which their successors are installed.
Standing Rule H.1.b gives the election rules.
1. Before the Assembly.
A moderator candidate must first be a commissioner; thus, they are elected by their presbytery to serve as a commissioner. Candidates not elected still serve as commissioners to the Assembly, they do not leave and go home.
Campaigns are limited to $1,500, excluding travel and meeting expenses for the candidacy. That is not much; however, the ability to communicate with commissioners and advisory delegates prior to the Assembly has changed dramatically because of the internet.
The only other pre-Assembly information available will be produced by the Stated Clerk's office. What will commissioners and advisory delegates receive?
A picture;
An endorsement letter from the home presbytery;
A formal announcement of the Vice-Moderator Candidate (that's a more recent development -- I seem to remember that other candidates had usually been named Vice-Moderator on the morning after the election); and,
Responses to questions posed by the Stated Clerk
According to Standing Rule H.1.b.(3)(b), "no candidate shall send a mailing of any campaign materials, print or electronic, to commissioners and/or advisory delegates or permit such a mailing to be sent, nor shall candidates or their advocates contact commissioners and/or advisory delegates by telephone." In short, commissioners and advisory delegates will get only what the Stated Clerk deems important for them to know.
2. Before the first night's election.
The Assembly convenes on Saturday. Among the chores of finding out where the meetings will be held, going through the orientation sessions, wandering through the Exhibit Hall and dealing with crowds of other people doing the same thing; commissioners and advisory delegates will have the opportunity to meet with the candidates.
The candidates may have written materials available in the rooms where they are meeting people. They also may place written materials in the commissioner and advisory delegate mailboxes -- which many will not discover until after the election has taken place. No other distribution of written or promotional material is permitted.
The Presbyterian Outlook dinner has traditionally been a pre-election campaign stop for the candidates. Many commissioners and advisory delegates attend this meal. It lets out just in time to go into the evening session where the election will take place.This year, the registration materials indicate that The Presbyterian Outlook event is a lunch instead of a dinner -- don't know why the change was made unless there was something about the commissioner/advisory delegate group meal and orientation.
3. The election process.
Standing Rule H.1.b.(4) controls the actual election.
There is a 5 minute nomination speeches for each candidate. Then, each candidate gets to make a 5 minute speech.
Then, there is the Question and Answer time. If there are two candidates, there will be 30 minutes for Q&A; for three candidates, there will be 45 minutes. Elections can be determined during this time -- a humorous answer, a moment of clarity, a presence in front of the full Assembly have swung the votes one way or the other.
The vote. Advisory delegates vote first; the result "advises" the commissioners. Then, the commissioners vote. To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes; that is, more than 50%. If no one receives a majority, a second ballot following the same pattern -- and so on, until someone does receive more than 50%. I do not recall any elections going deeper than a third ballot. (This process gets much simpler with only two candidates -- there is no "none of the above"; thus, if there continue to be only two candidates, there will be one ballot.)
Who Are The Candidates?
Two candidates have been announced (in alphabetical order):
Cynthia Bolbach. Cindy is an elder from National Capital Presbytery. Her site has a detailed biography, as does the endorsement letter from her presbytery. Most significantly for this General Assembly's purpose, she served as co-moderator of the New Form of Government Task Force (nFoG).
Jin Kim. Jin is the founding pastor and head of staff of Church of All Nations in Minneapolis. He, too, has a site with a detailed biography. Most significantly for this General Assembly's purpose, he served on the Special Committee on the Belhar Confession.
(Note: I have deliberately tried to be equivalent for the two -- in my past experience at General Assemblies, my endorsement and support have been the kiss of death for candidates.)
Campaigning? What Campaigning?
With all due respect the the Manual's description of "encouraging reliance on the leading of the Holy Spirit," I have to confess I am not a fan of the process. I am not in favor of limited exposure or information. The current process discourages leadership. It discourages an informed discerning opinion. It discourages creativity and stifles enthusiasm. Further, as illustrated by my ability to link to the candidates' sites where they are able to provide substantially more information in their own format, I do not think the process is real in the new media age.
It is an 18th century approach to a 21st century reality. Or, another way to look at it: the process is an attempt to limit candidates to a yellow page ad in a dot-com world. (Anecdotally, more first-time visitors are finding Chula Vista Presbyterian via the internet than newspaper ads and yellowpages combined).
The current restrictions should be reviewed and some simple alternatives can be put in place. For example, the orientation videos from the Office of the General Assembly are well done. The same could be done with candidates for Moderator. It need not be a debate-- just interviews and conversation. Reliance upon the Holy Spirit need not be equated with designed ignorance.
Well, that's my soapbox for today.
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