Sunday, May 18, 2014

SC National Board disregards documentation of flawed election in 2010 - my act of civil disobedience

After the August 2010 election, described in earlier posts, I prepared a detailed complaint and sent it to Greg Cassini, Sierra Club's Associate Director of Volunteer Development. In the following months, I learned that there were two speeds for National Sierra Club resolution of member complaints over rules disputes: rapid and ultra-slow. 

In January 2010, when Jim Lane told Cassini that the December ExCom election was invalid because the days between ballot mailing and ballot counting were a few days less than mandated by bylaws, Mr. Cassini responded rapidly. Cassini proposed several responses, which Lane rejected. Lane held out for an re-run election in August election, with a second ExCom election in December 2010 for the remainder of the ExCom seats. Cassini accepted Lane's terms.

When I informed Cassini that Lane and Baer's August 2010 ExCom campaign was fraudulent and libelous, in violation of Club standing rules, he told me to prepare a complaint with all the evidence. I did. I documented the charges, and requested Sierra Club National immediately remove leadership privileges from Lane and Baer, in accordance with Sierra Club Standing Rules 5.10.2, for fraud and libel in the conduct of Club business, defined as serious misconduct in SR 2.2.6. Click here to download the PDF of the complaint.

I submitted it in early October and heard nothing further.

My expectation that National would act on my complaint was reduced when I saw the letter that Robin Mann, President of the Sierra Club National Board of Directors, sent to the New York State Chapter. Clearly, the NYC dispute had come to the attention of the Club's highest levels. However, I interpreted it as a message that National would forgive and ignore previous scandals as long as there were no more embarrassments or disasters coming from the New York State Chapter.(full text of her letter below)

Why the fast response to Lane and Baer's complaint? Lane, as a self-employed lawyer, sued Sierra Club National in the early 2000s to prevent the dissolution of the NYC Group. It seems likely that National Board and staff will go to great lengths to avoid confronting Lane again, even if that means ignoring clear violations of Club rules.

Still, it looked like National was quite willing to toss my complaint in the recycling bin. I felt I had to compel National to address it. I ran for the NYC ExCom again in the December election. In my ballot statement, I asked for National to investigate the NYC Group. I also committed acts of civil disobedience. I still had the list of SC NYC members from November 2009, when I was sending out emails about Group activities to NYC members (a practice that stopped with me). On December 20, 2011, I sent out two emails to a list of 5560 members. One was an introduction to my new personal project, http://www.beyondoilnyc.org/.

This was both to partly rehabilitate my reputation, and to use a Sierra Club list for other than Sierra Club business. The second email was a denunciation of what had happened. (See below) As it was sent by me, as a candidate in an ExCom election, I am certain it must have violated National rules. The emails were opened by 880 on that list. (Evidence on request) I then copied these emails to the New York City Group ExCom, the New York State Chapter Excom, and finally, to the National Board of Directors.

As of early January, 2011, I am mystified at the lack of response to these actions. But I still want to know what National will do with my complaints about the election of August 2010.

----- Original Message --
From: "Robin Mann, Sierra Club"
Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 2010 8:00 PM
Subject: Letter to Atlantic Chapter leaders from Sierra Club President Robin Mann
November 3, 2010

TO: Atlantic Chapter & Group Leaders
FROM: Robin Mann, Sierra Club President, on behalf of the Board of Directors
RE: Please Address These Matters Promptly

Dear Chapter and Group Leaders,

We know that there has been a lot of great conservation and electoral work going on in New York. We thank you and congratulate you for that. There are, however, also some red flags emerging including recent chapter committee resignations, group election conflicts, and reports of some interactions between leaders and public officials reflecting poorly on the Sierra Club - in our experience, all potential warning signs of escalating factionalism. We are sharing our concerns with you at this time in order to encourage you collectively take steps to proactively and constructively resolve your disputes and avoid further deterioration that may necessitate national Club intervention.

The Board of Directors expects all of the chapters to participate in building and maintaining a vibrant grassroots organization that advances the Club's mission. As Chapter & Group leaders, you all have an obligation to protect the Club's name and reputation, ensure a safe and productive working environment for members and staff, and foster a Club in which people want to participate.

The two recent resignations from the Chapter Political Committee and a NYC Group election that had to be rerun and still resulted in negative, disputed campaign mailings to local members call into question the ability of Chapter & Group leaders to work together effectively and provide the kind of leadership the Club expects of its chapters. Due to these concerns, we have asked the Volunteer Leadership Advisory Committee and staff in the Office of Volunteer and Activist Services to offer support to the Atlantic Chapter to help address these concerns. Greg Casini will be the lead staff for this effort, which will continue until it is evident the following has occurred:

WHAT WE EXPECT TO SEE:

+ A welcoming and respectful environment for all volunteers and staff
- No basis for requests to suspend or remove leaders

+ Sincere efforts to involve new volunteers in meaningful ways
- No reports of factionalism or cliquishness

+ Positive public relationships with elected officials and other community leaders
- No reports of behavior that harms the Club's reputation and effectiveness with public officials

+ Chairs fostering productive and satisfying teamwork for their committee members
- No angry resignations

+ ExCom elections viewed by all as fair
- Complaint-free elections

Collectively, all chapter and group leaders are responsible for the vibrancy of the organization. All of you are responsible for the leaders you appoint, the ExCom officers you select, and the authorization of individuals to speak publically on behalf of the Club. As we do with all chapters, we expect you to work together to build a strong, healthy chapter and vibrant groups. When this is accomplished, we have great confidence in your ability to achieve even more important conservation victories.


***


To: Sierra Club Board of Directors
Re: Controversy connected with SC NYC Group ExCom Elections
I regret having to communicate with this list on a sensitive and unpleasant topic. There have been some difficulties at the Atlantic Chapter and the NYC Group ExCom. While National leaders are making diligent and careful efforts to improve volunteer operations, I am concerned that they may be willing to overlook serious violations of Club procedures in the past in the hope of smooth functioning in the future. Failing to address past violations will leave unchanged the conditions that are bound to result in future issues. In the hope of optimizing the Club’s presence in New York State, I would encourage Club leaders not to sweep things under the rug.

In order to assure these matters are not ignored, I have myself committed violations of procedure, as an act of civil disobedience.
I hope these matters can be thoroughly resolved, with the ultimate best interests of the Club in mind.

Sincerely, Dan Miner

***

Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 10:50 AM
To: ATL-LEADERS LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG
Subject: Notification to Sierra Club National of unauthorized communications through the NYC Group Members List

From: New York City Group ExCom members
On Behalf Of Dan Miner
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 10:46 AM
To: ATL-NYC-EXCOM@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG
Subject: Notification to Sierra Club National of unauthorized communications through the NYC Group Members List December 20, 2010

Notification to Sierra Club National of unauthorized communications through the NYC Group Members List
Greg, I am relieved to hear that the National Board is paying close attention to the difficulties that have taken place in the Atlantic Chapter and the NYC Group, and that you have been assigned to oversee efforts to improve matters. However, review of Robin Mann’s November 3, 2010 letter to the Atlantic Chapter leaders leaves me deeply troubled.

The letter implies that as long as the Atlantic Chapter and the NYC Group avoid major missteps that would embarrass the National Sierra Club, past misdeeds will be ignored. As you know, there were technical violations in the NYC ExCom election of December 2009. They were doubtlessly obvious to Jim Lane and Ken Baer, masters of Sierra Club internal procedures, but neither spoke up, allowing the election to be completed with technical flaws, cleverly preserving grounds for appeal. Soon after Jim brought them to your attention, the election was nullified. He rejected compromises that you proposed, and that many members of the ExCom were willing to accept. Lane and Baer won complete control of the ExCom in the summer 2010 re-run election by orchestrating a campaign of fraud and libel against me. These actions are considered to be serious misconduct within the Club’s standing rules, and are profoundly significant when carried out in the course of Club elections. (The details are enumerated in the copied communications below, and on http://www.sierraclubnyc.blogspot.com/)

I fear that I have been played for a sucker when I was told to enter an official complaint to National, as it has languished for many months with no evidence that National will address these very serious violations. On the other hand, it seems apparent that National is unwilling to engage Jim Lane, the self-employed lawyer who has sued Sierra Club before, no matter what he does, out of fear that he can tie the Club up in expensive litigation. Neither the Atlantic Chapter ExCom nor the NYC Group ExCom has acknowledged the gravity of what has happened, and both bodies seem content to move on to business as usual.

It looks increasingly likely that my complaint, after suitable delay, will be dismissed in the interests of calm and stability. I find such selective enforcement of Club standing rules to be unfair, morally repugnant, and contrary to the best interests of the Club. Regretfully, I am forced to protest through civil disobedience.
As NYC Group Chair and newsletter editor, I had access to the members list and sent out email notifications of Club events. It contains the emails of about five thousand members. This morning, I have sent out two communications to that list, in violation of Club policy for using member lists. They are copied below.
One is about my own personal environmental organizing activities, not on Club business, that may somewhat repair the slanderous assault on my reputation carried out this summer. The other casts a spotlight on the heinous actions of Club leaders in the recent NYC ExCom elections. Since I am a candidate in the current election, it is especially inappropriate, and I am sure it violates many rules.

I don’t think either communication will have much material influence on the ExCom election, as the very few people who bother to vote will be heavily biased against me from the summer’s smear campaign, but I am sure others will argue otherwise. I recognize that my possession of the member list gives me an unfair advantage over other ExCom members. I have remedied this by sharing my list with them, so they can communicate directly with members as well, if they wish.

As you and other National staff and volunteers decide how to enforce these violations, I ask again how you plan to act on the violations detailed in my complaint, which I consider even more serious than mine. The saga of Julian Assange of Wikileaks suggests that organizations have an interest in proactive transparency. I suggest that National Sierra Club will be strengthened by this opportunity to deal with past difficulties rather than ignoring them.

Sincerely,

Dan Miner

***
Subject line Was your environmental group naughty or nice in 2011? [Email stationary template removed]

Dear XXX,

Thanks for your support of Sierra Club this year. Member donations support the Club's full time staff, ably headed by new Executive Director Michael Brune. Some of your donation is sent from the National Club down to regional or state Chapters, which are further divided into subregional Groups. Chapters and Groups are operated mostly by whichever members step forward and volunteer. The Atlantic (New York State) Chapter contains 11 regional groups, one of which is the NYC Group.

Some Groups are Nice!
Some chapters and groups, especially in large urban areas, are amazingly dynamic. The Los Angeles Chapter is the oldest and largest chapter in the country, made up of 62 regional groups, activity sections and committees, with 46,000 members. Perhaps more comparable to NYC is the Chicago Group. Its 8,500 members actively campaign for the local, state and national candidates they endorse. The Group has beach clean-ups monthly from April through September, with up to 400 attending, and an active outing program. Their Social Committee hosts monthly dinners, bar nights, neighborhood walks, movie nights and book discussion groups.They have e-newsletters & a well-maintained website, advertise their events on Facebook & Meet-up, and in local newspapers. Read statements from the LA and Chicago Groups.

Some Groups are...ah...Not As Nice...?
You're probably glad for the Sierra Club members in LA and Chicago. And you're glad to be supporting the Sierra Club's National staff and programs with your donation. But you might wonder, what's up with NYC? Where's the NYC Group, anyway?As a member, you get a quarterly newsletter, and sometimes some emails. Unfortunately, Sierra Club's NYC Group just doesn't do that much. Out of about 10,000 New Yorkers who pay dues to Sierra Club, about 20 actively volunteer with the Group. (The separate Photography Committee is much larger and more active.) That's too bad, because a more active Group could play positive role in the City, and support National programs in one of the world's media and financial centers.

Why is this the case? Well, hardly any of the members vote for the Executive Committee - about 100 in 2008, and around 350 in the last two elections. The few who vote keep re-electing the handful of volunteers who have run things for many years. How do I know? I spent a couple of years on the Executive Committee, trying to move things forward. I had a plan to get more people involved, and get positive things done. Things haven't worked out as I hoped within the NYC Group, so I'm carrying out the plan independently.

Some Groups are Naughty!
Things didn't work out because the volunteers who were running things liked being in charge, even if not much got doneI recruited a slate of candidates who won a majority of the ExCom in the winter 2009 election. But some of the folks on the governing faction are very, very skilled at using Sierra Club internal regulations. One is a self-employed lawyer who has sued Sierra Club National before. National is very, very cautious in its dealings with the NYC Group. The election was overturned. In the rerun election this summer, the governing faction ran a negative campaign of fraud and libel against me personally. All the candidates I was backing lost.

That's standard campaign tactics for government elections. However, fraud and libel are still considered serious violations of the internal rules for Sierra Club volunteers. The governing faction was able to pressure National to quickly overturn the election they lost because of technical violations. Months after I went to National with a formal complaint, I'm told that National is processing it, and watching the NYC Group very carefully. There's no telling when or if it will act. Should this naughty group get only rocks in its stockings? I bet Santa thinks so, but I think someone's holding a gun on him. What do you think?

Sending this email to you, using an official list, with my personal and controversial opinions, during the conduct of an ExCom election in which I am a candidate, completely violates a slew of internal rules. Well, my role within Sierra Club is not so important. Some people will be offended, but that's not so important either. I hope this will stimulate discussion, lead to better practices, and get more members involved.What is important is building the global sustainability movement as quickly and effectively as possible. Sierra Club's ability to operate effectively in NYC as a part of that movement is very important. Please help Sierra Club, and increase your committment to the sustainability movement, however you see fit.

Thanks, and happy holidays.

Dan Miner
http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=t7oeipdab&et=1104097373807&s=4535&e=0016Ice08MNo1qvtXU_L7az0yVyAvxEeYW3ZwECOIFPzrE2XdvmX6861X7aueuH9phlUtER4ZKaMTMlS_EU6Oj_5uJvh-V2-E8EeBhk5choOz-MLlSLxXzBXg==


[The second email has been deleted for brevity.]

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