[council] How to resume (was: Ballot b10)

[Michael Schneider <sastre@anwalt.de>]

Dear colleagues,

I am well aware of the fact that we are in a difficult situation and 
therefore thought carefully whether and how to comment on the course of the 
elections. However I consider it necessary to decisively comment now rather 
than risking that we are attacked massively next week.

First allow me a review of the past five days. Don't regard it a flame.

I accepted my nomination to the Names Council because I want to help moving 
things. I did not intend to waste my time on discussions about due process 
and for the making of behind the scene alliances. This week I spent more 
than half my time explaining to many people who usually don't call me nor 
send me mail how I make my voting decisions. With some I suprisingly had to 
find a need of explaining the several times a day that I won't change my 
mind. I do not think I would support a repetition of this.

Our treatment of the question how to avoid possibly lacking support of 
individual candidates was not exactly professional either. I will not 
repeat what I have already stated on the phone: but some of the "pragmatic" 
solutions I have heard so far (from "it doesn't matter" to "the candidates 
concerned don't stand a chance anyhow") clearly lack sufficient 
professionality.

The course of today was most certainly the highlight of the whole election 
process. We have now - for whatever reasons - decided to interrupt the 
election. Nobody considered it necessary to inform those that were not able 
to participate the whole two hours of the conference call (again: I do have 
to work from time to time).

We will continue the neverending story on Monday. I am really not excited 
by this idea (also because on Sunday I am going on vacation of over three 
days for the first time in more than three years and already see myself 
sitting on the beach armed with Notebook and cell phone).

I now would like to - very concisely - list what I am willing to support 
and what not.

I am assuming (I don't even know it officially yet but rather heard this 
from a non-NC-member, which already says a lot in itself) that the election 
round today was interrupted because one of us first sent the correct vote 
with the wrong ballot and then the right ballot with the wrong vote.

I will not support that the elections are simply repeated from the 
beginning. Nor will I support that the elections are repeated from the 
round where the problem came up. Randy said on the phone today (in a 
different context, but very fitting in the matter) that he as a US-citizen 
lives in a system strongly influenced by rules and that one preferably 
should stick to the valid rules - especially when one created them oneself. 
To me - and here I would like to argue as a lawyer - it is clear: if an 
invalid or incorrect vote was submitted, all those participating have to 
live with it. We can and should pity the candidate who didn't receive the 
vote he was intended to receive, but that doesn't change the situation.

I.e.:

I expect us to continue where we dropped off. From my view the results of 
the last round should be announced as quickly as possible (i.e. within a 
couple of hours) and the elections continued. I consider anything else not 
acceptable. Insofar we proceed differently I will not participate in the 
election (and consider to submit an official complaint to the Board).

Best regards,
Michael

--
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
  | Michael Schneider      CEO, AboveNet Deutschland GmbH            |
  |                        CEO, World Switch GmbH                    |
  |                    Founder, Schneider & Schollmeyer Law Firm     |
  |                   Chairman, eco - Electronic Commerce Forum e.V. |
  |                   Director, European ISP Association (EuroISPA)  |
  |                     Member, Names Council of ICANN               |
  | Eschborner Landstrasse 112, D-60489 Frankfurt am Main            |
  | Phone: +49 2242 927027      Michael.Schneider@abovenet.de        |