The election of the CfER Board of Directors will take place at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, May 10, 2008. (This is also a call to SAVE THE DATE.) The meeting will take place from 1:30pm to 4:30pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road, Davis, CA 95616. For directions, visit

The keynote speaker will be Yolo County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Freddie Oakley.

A social gathering at a nearby home will follow the meeting, from about 5:00pm to 7:30pm. Directions will be provided at the meeting, or email  if you can't attend the AGM itself.

CfER's annual leadership retreat will be the next day, May 11, from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Davis Food Coop, 620 G Street (at Sixth Street), Davis, CA 95616.  Call (530) 758-5941 for directions.  This all-day event is open to all CfER members.

The Board of Directors sets policy and the priorities for CfER. While I expect that many of the current Directors will run for re-election, turnover and new blood are always healthy. Also, we elect our Board using proportional representation (we practice what we preach!) and PR only works if the election is contested.

The Board holds four all-day meetings a year. One is the day after the AGM; the other three are held in two locations (one in Northern California, one in Southern California) connected via high-quality speakerphones. It is not unreasonable to expect to travel up to three hours to get to one of the two locations. (If it's a hardship, CfER will partially reimburse reasonable travel expenses.) The all-day meetings are held roughly quarterly; during each of the in-between months, the board holds a two-hour conference call. Board members are expected to attend all of these meetings.

We are an all-volunteer organization (no paid staff), so Board members are strongly encouraged to get involved with some area of interest, such as membership development, outreach, communication, chapter coordination, finance, budgeting, lobbying, or education, that will help build the statewide organization. It is also helpful to be involved with local efforts to advance IRV and PR.

Ballots will be mailed to all members by Saturday, April 12. To be counted, ballots cast by mail must be received by Friday, May 9. Ballots may also be cast in person at the AGM. If you are mailing your ballot, please do so by Saturday, May 3 to insure that it is received on time.