[arin-discuss] [arin-ppml] Term Limit Proposal

[Suzanne Woolf]

Hmmm….

As an ex-AC member who decided not to run again after two terms, I have some very mixed feelings about a term limit proposal.

In general, I oppose formal term limits. I prefer to trust AC members not to run again when they don't have the contribution to make, and the electorate to vote against incumbents who are ineffective or whose approach to the issues isn't what the community wants (although I think a diversity of approaches within the AC is important, and the AC is deliberately big enough to support that). The flexibility for the community to keep someone who *is* effective in place seems valuable.

It strikes me that we may simply have a problem here in judging "effectiveness", which may go to transparency of the AC-- do people have the information they need to judge for themselves whether an incumbent is effective? do they use it? In the absence of real, accessible information, term limits can make decisions easier (by making term-limited incumbents irrelevant to the nomination and election processes) but not necessarily better. Some kind of formal review process, just for the information of the community, might help here-- not so much judgments on policy positions taken, although that's part of the mix, as proposals written, active participation in meetings, opinions of other AC members, etc. (IOW, cautious support for the 360 review idea.)

We may also have a problem with depth of candidate pools, although I admit the last couple of times I took part in AC elections I didn't find that to be the case-- there seemed to be rather more qualified candidates than seats, leaving the electorate room to judge not only basic competence of candidates but some differences in approach and priorities. That's a pretty healthy situation that it took a long time to establish, and term limits would to some extent push back on it.

The other concern I've seen expressed and that makes some sense to me is about the level of engagement of the electorate. If that's truly a major component of the discontent, it's only indirectly related to the AC-- either its selection or its performance. Furthermore, limiting the pool of AC candidates with term limits isn't going to make AC elections more effective in giving the community what it needs; only a more engaged electorate can do that, and there's no obvious (to me, anyway) link between fewer AC candidates and more involvement in elections.

But if people feel strongly there's a need for term limits, I think one term is too aggressive; arguably it takes a year to even begin to be effective, another year to get comfortable with the machinery and relationships. If the community agrees six years really is too long, it makes more sense to shorten a single term to two years, and limit an incumbent to two terms.

best,
Suzanne

On Mar 31, 2014, at 3:19 PM, William Herrin <bill at herrin.us> wrote:

> On Tue, Mar 25, 2014 at 12:05 PM, Azinger, Marla <Marla.Azinger at ftr.com> wrote:
>> I propose the following be used for AC:
>> 
>> -Keep the 3 year terms in place  and add
>> -a 6 year contiguous term limit
>> -a 3 year ineligibility year period after a term ends be it 3year or 6years
>> -After 3 year ineligibility is over a person my run for a position on the AC
>> again.
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> I support this, however...
> 
> I think 6 years is too long. I would prefer to see one term contiguous
> limits with a 1-year-out waiting period. This would assure that folks
> rotate in and out of the advisory council, bringing fresh perspectives
> with them.
> 
> I would NOT support this for the board. ARIN benefits from the board's
> continuity.
> 
> Regards,
> Bill Herrin
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> William D. Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
> 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/>
> Falls Church, VA 22042-3004
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