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RE: [legalxml-sc] Election Results

From: Roger Winters
To: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 23:31:00 -0000

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Subject: RE: [legalxml-sc] Election Results

From: "Winters, Roger" <[email protected]>
To: "'[email protected]'" <[email protected]>, [email protected], 'John Ruegg' <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 16:31:05 -0700

John,

I rather like your extensive electoral discussion. Living in Washington, where a trial began today wrangling over an election where our Governor was put into office by a margin of 129 votes from 2.9 million cast - after three recounts - it is almost obsessive for us to get embroiled in argumentation about elections. I think your suggested ways of resolving it all are wise and practical. I endorse them. Perhaps we can fix our ROP to give ourselves permission to be as "human" as we have clearly been when we miss our "deadlines" in such matters.

We might say that "on an annual basis" gives us ample and much-deserved leeway-we are doing good works for the people at large, after all! We clearly did conduct last year's election within the confines of that year's "annual-ity" and we conducted this year's election within the "annual-ity" of the current year. What, after all, is a year but an arbitrary construct? There's calendar year, fiscal year, solar year, lunar year, program year, project year, leap year, year of the Rooster, and so on. It's not clear from our ROP that we have to draw the lines exactly in lock-step with a dictatorial calendar (Julian or Gregorian?).

I'm content to recall that Dallas, John G., and Robin served our Member Section admirably for the "2004" (ish) annual term and now John R., John G., and Robin will be serving, no doubt similarly well, perhaps better, during the "2005" (ish) annual term. The "2006" (ish) annual term may, as a result of all the Washington State electoral trauma (along with the memories of Floridas past), end up being much more formalized and precise - one term ends at midnight (but in what time zone???) and the successor takes office at 12:01 a.m. (but who was in office for that interim 60-seconds of anarchy???). Should the Member Section enter a virtual conclave to make their selections? What color then shall be the smoke icon that appears in KAVI at the close of the balloting?

As a supporter of the Governor who lost by as few as 42 votes and then won by 129, I am content to allow bygone elections to be bygone. It's time to look forward to more serious issues that we must confront. For example, how shall we manage to make sense of our business when we have a committee that includes three (count them! 3!) Johns? Must we resort to the formality of addressing each by surname only? Get cutesy and have John, Jack, and Johnny (and then how do we keep track of which John took which!)? These are awesome issues. Thank goodness the work day ends and I can go home and worry about them another time.

Congratulations! The Will of the People (in the Member Section) has been expressed. They wanted another John...and that's what they got!

Your obedient, etc....

Roger