The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 65 AFSA NEWS • Post-AFSA restrictions: Employees who have partici- pated in collective bargaining while serving on the AFSA Governing Board may not serve: 1) in a management position inWashington that involves labor-management relations or the formulation of personnel policies and pro- grams; or 2) as a confidential employee to such manage- ment positions, for two years after leaving AFSA. Members should consider these restric- tions before deciding whether to run for AFSAGoverning Board positions covered by these restrictions. Please direct questions regarding this issue to Sharon Papp, General Counsel, by email: PappS@state.gov . All other election-related queries should be addressed to the Committee on Elections by email at election@afsa.org . In addition to the above, due to AFSA efforts to educate Congress on issues related to Foreign Service conditions of employment, legislative proposals and other issues directly impacting the Foreign Service, employees serving in congressional fellowships may not serve on the AFSAGovern- ing Board. A conflict or poten- tial conflict of interest exists between their position in AFSA and their official duties. AFSAmembers serving as congressional fellows may run for the AFSAGoverning Board provided their fellowship ends before the incoming board takes office on July 15, 2019. Accepting a Nomination 1. A nominee can indi- cate his or her acceptance of a nomination by written response to the Commit- tee on Elections (using the same addresses indicated above under “Nominating Candidates”). Following receipt of nominations, an authorized representative of the Committee on Elections will promptly communicate with each nominee (exclud- ing members who nominate themselves) to confirm their willingness to be a candidate. Nominees must confirm their acceptance in writing (using the same addresses indi- cated above under “Nomi- nating Candidates”) to the Committee on Elections no later than 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 5, 2019. Any nominee whose written acceptance of nomi- nation is not received by the Committee on Elections by this time will be considered to have declined candidacy. 2. All candidates accept- ing a nomination must iden- tify the position or positions they have filled for the past two years prior to accepting the nomination. All candi- dates not seeking a full-time AFSA position (President, State VP, USAID VP, FCS VP, FAS VP) must also identify the agency position they will be serving in beginning on July 15, 2019, when the Board takes office. This information is necessary to ensure com- pliance with section 1017(e) of the Foreign Service Act. Campaigning 1. Campaign Statements. All candidates will be given the opportunity to submit campaign statements for dis- semination to AFSAmembers with the election ballots. Further information regarding such statements and editorial deadlines will be contained in the “Instructions to Candi- dates,”which will be posted by the Committee on Elections at www.afsa.org/elections by Dec. 14, 2018. 2. Supplementary State- ments. Should candidates wish to mail supplementary statements to the member- ship, AFSAwill make its membership mailing list or address labels available to the candidate upon request and at their expense. Further information on this and other campaign procedures will be included in the “Instructions to Candidates”mentioned above. 3. Other Methods of Communication. Depart- ment of Labor requirements prohibit individuals from using government or employer resources (including email accounts) to campaign for AFSA positions. Voting Ballots will be distributed on or about April 28, 2019, to each regular AFSAmember as of March 28, 2019. Candidates or their representatives may observe the ballot distribu- tion process if they so desire. Each member may cast one vote for President, Secretary, Treasurer and, in addition, one vote for a constituency Vice President and each Represen- tative position in the mem- ber’s constituency. Regular members may cast their votes for candidates listed on the official ballot, or by writing in the name(s) of member(s) eligible as of Feb. 1, 2019, or by doing both. To be valid, a ballot must be received by 8 a.m. on June 12, 2019, either (i) at the address indicated on the envelope accompanying the ballot or (ii) by online vote. More detailed balloting instructions will accompany the ballots. Vote Counting and Announcement of Results On or about June 12, 2019, the Committee on Elections will oversee ballot tabula- tion and declare elected the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each position. Candidates or their representatives may be present during the tally and may challenge the validity of any vote or the eligibility of any voter. The committee will inform candidates individually of the election results by the swiftest possible means and will publish the names of all elected candidates in the next issue of The Foreign Service Journal . Elected candidates will take office on July 15, 2019, as provided in the bylaws. The Committee on Election members and supporting staff members may be reached at election@afsa.org. Committee on Elections Members Nan Fife, Chair (State) Candice Bruce (FAS) Linda Caruso (FCS) Jorge Dulanto-Hassenstein (USAID) Mort Dworken (Retiree) Michael Riley (State) Staff Members Russ Capps, Chief Operating Officer Sharon Papp, General Counsel TBD, Election Coordinator n