SHORELINE — Several Shoreline Chamber of Commerce members are questioning whether bylaws were followed during a Nov. 10 board member election.
Some say a re-vote may be necessary, although others say it is too late.
In addition to questioning the bylaws, members say other factors contributed to an unusual election, such as a drastic increase in members and a second slate of candidates, although no members from the alternate slate were elected.
“I have never seen a bigger group at a membership luncheon, there were probably 200 people there,” said board member Jeff Lindstrom. “There were so many we didn’t have lunch for everybody; there were probably 70 new members.”
Lindstrom, who was elected to the board, said a group of chamber members formed a second nominating committee and proposed an alternate slate of candidates just two days before the meeting. He said he was unaware of the proceedings until he arrived at the luncheon.
“It was extremely confusing because at the last minute, there was a whole new slate of directors,” Lindstrom said. “They were nominated by some of the existing chamber members.”
Mary Sierchio, owner of Lake City Florist, was one of the candidates on the second slate. She said members supporting the alternate slate had not exactly determined what issues they hoped to address.
“I wanted to contribute more,” Sierchio said. “I didn’t have an ulterior motive to get somebody off the slate.”
Sierchio said a number of bylaws were not followed, including people nominated from the floor, nominations after voting began, the vice president-elect in charge of the ballot box and the vice president-elect on the nominating committee.
Lindstrom said some people who may not have understood the voting process the chamber has used for many years were uneasy about the election. While votes were cast, he said some members questioned the voting method.
“Unfortunately, some people questioned the procedures at the time of the vote,” Lindstrom said.
Chamber President Diana Stephens said some of the concerns raised are permissible according to the bylaws and other issues were just a continuation of past practices.
“To be honest, I thought it was standard operating procedure,” Stephens said. “When someone pointed out the vice president was not supposed to be on the committee, he stepped down.”
Stephens said a re-vote is not addressed in the bylaws.
“We don’t have provisions for being able to do a re-election once the slate is voted on and people selected,” Stephens said. “The election is over.”
Sierchio, however, said the possibility of a re-vote will likely be brought to the membership at a special meeting Dec. 8.
Stephens said the chamber gained about 70 new members, totaling 280. There is no provision in the bylaws stipulating members must join a certain amount of time before voting, she said.
“We were taking people the day of the election,” Stephens said. “Some people were renewing their membership the day of the election.”
Lindstrom said the division in the chamber may be a result of some members strongly favoring the North City Project, and feeling the current board members would not be friendly toward redevelopment.
Sierchio, who has been active on the chamber’s membership committee, said that until the meeting, there has been difficulty attracting new members.
“There are certain things going on in the chamber that have divided them,” Sierchio said. “The Aurora Merchants, a parking lot problem at the college and Fircrest.”
Chamber executive director Cindy Easterson declined to comment on the election.
“Everything about the election is really not up for discussion,” Easterson said. “I want to make sure the integrity of the chamber is kept intact.”
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