DURHAM, NC (November 22, 2009) – Bob Carey, the president of the National Press Photographers Association, today released the following message to all members:
Dear NPPA Members,
Last evening [Saturday, November 21, 2009], the NPPA Executive Committee (EC) met to discuss an issue that has surfaced during our current national board election. The EC feels that as journalists, we need to be as transparent in our governance as possible. In our discussion last night we felt that we needed to disclose a recent Governance Committee matter to the entire NPPA membership.
After the national election began this month, I received a message from a member who raised concerns about the use, by Region 2 chair Todd Maisel, of the regional newsletter and Web site for personal campaign promotion.
I immediately forwarded these concerns to NPPA vice president Sean D. Elliot who serves as chair of the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee met via conference call to discuss the concerns. Members of the committee include NPPA secretary Denise McGill; former NPPA president John Long; former NPPA president Clyde Mueller; and NPPA parliamentarian Travis Barrick.
The Governance Committee agreed that the use of an official regional newsletter and Web site for self endorsement as a candidate for the board was both a violation of the spirit of the long-standing election policy as well as a breach of campaign ethics, both in effect claiming the endorsement of the region when it had not been specifically sought or given, as well as the use of one’s office to promote personal political gain.
The committee contacted Maisel and explained the committee’s concerns and explained the remedies the committee felt were necessary. Some negotiations followed, but at this time the remedies have been implemented. The Governance Committee contacted the other national candidates and explained the breach and the remedy. The Governance Committee has released their report to the Board and the Executive Committee, and it can be seen below.
We believe that transparency is important and for this reason wanted to make you, our members, aware of the situation and the resolution. I, and the rest of the Executive Committee, thank and support the Governance Committee for its resolution of this matter and the process through which they came to this conclusion.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me at president@nppa.org.
Sincerely,Bob Carey
NPPA President
Report of the Governance Committee
November 16, 2009
President Bob Carey forwarded me a complaint from a member in Region 2 who considered the use by regional chair Todd Maisel of the regional newsletter and Web site for personal campaign promotion to be questionable.
I convened the Governance Committee via conference call on Sunday November 8th, including myself, Denise McGill, John Long, Clyde Mueller, and Travis Barrick. We discussed the specifics of the complaint as well as some other issues we saw in the process.
We all agreed that the use of a official regional newsletter and Web site for self endorsement as a candidate for the board was both a violation of the spirit of the long-standing election policy (albeit one that needs clarification) as well as a breach of campaign ethics, both in effectively claiming the endorsement of the region when it had not been specifically sought or given as well as the use of one’s office to promote personal political gain.
I called Todd on Monday and explained the committee’s concerns and explained the remedies the committee felt were necessary. Some negotiations followed regarding exact wording and timing but at this time the remedies have been implemented. The region 2 Web site now has a link to the national web site elections page and specific endorsement of Todd’s candidacy has been deleted. A regional eMail has been sent explaining the error as well. The committee considers this matter closed at this time.
Sean D. Elliot
Governance Committee Chair
