RE: [registrars] Board Vote

["Michael D. Palage" <michael@palage.com>]

Ross,

I actually agree with you on a number of points.

As for the open voting format, you will have to speak with Rick as he set up
the ballot.  I do not believe that it was intended to be this way but I do
not think anyone has anything to hide. In fact originally the constituency
cast all of its ballots via the mailing list. In retrospect it was probably
less complicated and more reliable :-)

With regard to the Constituency's support of Alejandro you forget to mention
that it was I that originally nominated him and advocated for his candidacy
despite some people that wanted to forego his election because of the
Evolution and Reform Process. Over the past couple of years both Nelly (my
wife) and I have become friends with Alejandro. He is in fact one of the
reasons I am trying to learn Spanish. He was rather critical that little
Michael knew more Spanish than me.

I agree that Vint and Alejandro are and would continue to make excellent
Board directors. I guess where we disagree is how they get there. In my view
of the world, which is obviously a little self interested, Alejandro and I
would get on the Board via the GNSO, and Vint would make it via the
nominating committee. Although I believe Alejandro would also be a candidate
via the Nominating Committee as well. Although the GNSO is allotted two
slots for the Board, the Nominating Committee actually gets to seat half of
the voting Board (8 members).

I have spoken to several of the nominating committee that have mentioned
Vint's name as a potential candidate since the PSO got disbanded. I hope
that the Registrar Nominating Committee Delegate (either Henning or Elliot)
would consider Vint as a potential board member via the nominating committee
should he not make it through the GNSO. As the father of the Internet his
credentials are rather impeccable.

However, the reason I decided to run for the Board was not to kick off two
qualified directors, but because of a lack of understanding by most Board
members of the issues that impact registrars and registries. This reality
was conveyed by Amadeu in his capacity as a Board member when he announced
that he was not seeking reelection. With my understanding of registrar and
registry operations, and my experience as an entrepreneur as well as an
intellectual property attorney, I think I bring a lot to the table. I am not
perfect but I give it a 110% every time.

I am still working on my disclosure and position statement for the Names
Council and will post it here as soon as it is complete. I think my efforts
of the last four years speak for it self. I regret that some registrars
believe that I would not do a good job representing their interests. If
those registrars could share their concerns with me I would greatly
appreciate the feedback.

With regard to your concern about there being no continuity between the old
board and the new Board, the ASO has already elected their two replacements
for the new Board and they choose existing directors. So right out of the
gates 11% of the old Board has rolled over with 0% new blood.

Best regards,

Mike







> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-registrars@dnso.org [mailto:owner-registrars@dnso.org]On
> Behalf Of Ross Wm. Rader
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 9:21 PM
> To: registrars@dnso.org
> Subject: [registrars] Board Vote
>
>
> Folks;
>
> I see that we have moved back to an open voting format (hear, hear) and
> note that many of you have not yet voted. Please do so - its important
> that our Names Council reps hear from the constituency on matters like
> this.
>
> I've talked to a number of you personally regarding our vote for the
> board seat. I want to pass on some thoughts concerning why Alejandro
> Pisanty deserves the continued support of the Registrar Constituency.
>
> I say "continued" because Alejandro is the candidate that the
> constituency backed in the last board election in August of 2002. Our
> nomination for him then summarizes our current feelings best -
> "Alejandro has provided valuable leadership during the evolution and
> reform process and he should be re-elected based upon this and his other
> accomplishments to date.
>
> Alejandro is currently the Vice-chair of the ICANN Board. He has the
> necessary qualifications and experience to sit on the board. His
> appointment as vice-chair supports this and illustrates the respect that
> his fellow board members have for him. He also led the charge through
> the ICANN reform process and ensured that this important undertaking was
> conducted with integrity and credibility. These actions directly
> benefitted our constituency and all others that continue to work in the
> ICANN structure.
>
> There are also other important points to take into consideration. It is
> very unlikely that there will be many "hold-overs" from the old board.
> New blood is very important to the continued vibrancy of the
> organization, but continuity is equally important. Entirely replacing
> the board and eliminating one of the key players in this new ICANN would
> simply not be in our best interests.
>
> We must also take into account the realities of geographic diversity.
> Alejandro an extremely strong candidate from a region that ICANN needs
> to continue to hear more from. Electing a North American in this round
> will mean that a North American cannot be elected in the next round.
> This would mean that Vint Cerf, ICANN's current chair, may no longer
> qualify as a candidate.
>
> All in all, Alejandro is an excellent candidate that deserves our
> continued support.
>
> More information on Alejandro can be found at the following URLs;
>
> Current Nomination: http://www.dnso.org/nominees/2003.api.html
> Previous Nomination:
> http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/icann-nominations/Arc02/msg00003.html
> Biography: http://www.dnso.org/nominees/2003.api.html
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>            -rwr
>
> -------------------------------
> Ross Wm. Rader
> Director, Innovation & Research
> Tucows Inc.
> tel: 416.538.5492
> fax: 416.531.1257
> email: ross@tucows.com
>