Although the CRPA Board election won't take place until August, with ballots sent out as part of the August issue of The Firing Line, we wanted to give our members advance notification of the CRPA election process.
The following information is based on portions of the CRPA bylaws that have been paraphrased here for your information and understanding of this process.
Activity committee members are elected by you the membership. Each committee consists of up to six members, provided not more than four are from within one of the state's two geographical areas (North and South as defined below). The Activity Committees are Pistol Shooting, High Power Rifle Shooting, Smallbore Rifle Shooting, Silhouette Shooting, Air Gun Shooting, Hunting and Wildlife Conservation (Non-Shooting), Arms Collectors (Non-Shooting), Programs and Coalitions Development (Non-Shooting).
Nominations of candidates for election to the CRPA Activity Committees are submitted to the Nominating Committee no later than June 15 each year. Any eligible CRPA member may submit his or her own name to the Nominating Committee for consideration. June 15 falls on a Tuesday this year, so I would ask that we try to have all nominations received in headquarters by Friday, June 11, if possible.
For the purpose of nominations for election to Activity Committees, the state has been divided into two geographical areas. The Northern area is designated as that portion of the state north of a horizontal line drawn from border to border using the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties. The Southern area is designated as that portion of the state south of that same horizontal line described above.
Nominees are selected from their geographical area as determined by residence address. Elected Activity Committeepersons are elected by regular and lifetime members. Terms range from one to three years and are staggered, so each year there is a unique set of committee openings based on both year and north/south geography.
As nominations are received, they will initially be sent to each Activity Committee Chair and the Nominating Committee for review. After the June 15, 2010 deadline for receipt of nominations, the Nominating Committee (which consists of seven board members elected by the CRPA Board at the February board meeting) will meet via conference call to complete their review, and select qualified candidates for the ballot using input from the Activity Committee Chairs. The Nominating Committee will then have approximately until the first week in July (deadline to close the August issue of TFL for printing) to review and approve the ballot. As mentioned earlier, we'll use the August issue of The Firing Line for the ballot distribution process.
For this year's elections, your ballots must be received at headquarters no later than Friday, August 27 at 4:30 PM.
The President shall appoint an Election Committee consisting of not less than five CRPA members who shall count votes and certify the results of the election to the board of directors.
Activity Committees include both Shooting and Non-Shooting Committees and the duties common to each Activity Committee include the following:
· Identify, recommend, implement, and promote CRPA's activities.
· Submit to the Nominating Committee a list of recommended candidates for election to that activity committee.
· Encourage and promote membership in the CRPA and participation in all CRPA activities and in the shooting sports generally, and in particular by juniors, women, and other identifiable groups with potential interest.
· Publicize committee activities in The Firing Line and on www.crpa.org.
Duties of each Shooting Activity Committee include the following:
· Administer and conduct state championship matches, and other sanctioned activities in accordance with the CRPA's Standard Operating Procedures for Conducting State Championships.
· Establish and administer CRPA policy concerning the conduct of junior state championships for all shooting activities.
Qualifications of each new Shooting Activity Committee Member include:
· NRA classification in the discipline(s) administered by the activity committee. For disciplines for which classification records are not maintained by the NRA, verifiable classification by the primary national sanctioning organization for said discipline may be substituted.
· Demonstrable competitive shooting expertise in the discipline administered by the activity committee.
· Demonstrable experience in activity promotion of the discipline administered by the activity committee.
· Ability to contribute to the CRPA's growth and expansion of the disciplines administered by the activity committee.
Duties unique to each Non-Shooting Activity Committees include the following:
· Duties unique to the Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Activity include the development of programs relating to the use and management of our wildlife resources for the sport of hunting in its broadest sense, including the right of hunters to own, possess, and use firearms in the lawful pursuit of the sport of hunting, with the objective of encouraging hunters and others to affiliate with the CRPA.
· Duties unique to the Arms Collectors Activity include the development of policies and programs for encouraging participation of firearms collectors, individuals and organizations, in CRPA membership and activities, for encouraging CRPA members to engage in the hobby of firearms collecting, and to conduct exhibitions of firearms collections in furtherance of these objectives.
· Duties unique to the Programs and Coalitions Development Committee include the following: Identify and promote available programs that promote and support the goals of the CRPA. Establish strategic alliances with other groups and individuals that share and support the goals of the CRPA.
General qualifications of each Non-Shooting Activity Committee Member include:
· Demonstrable subject matter expertise in the committee's area of focus.
· Demonstrable ability to contribute to the CRPA's growth and expansion of the programs administered by the activity committee.
Activity-specific qualifications of each new Non-Shooting Activity Committee member include:
· For members of the Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Activity Committee: demonstrable hunting and/or wildlife conservation experience and prior activity in groups or organizations promoting such.
· For members of the Arms Collectors Activity Committee: demonstrable arms collecting and exhibition experience and prior experience in groups or organizations promoting such.
· For members of the Programs and Coalitions Committee Activity Committee: Demonstrable experience in promoting programs that promote and support the goals of the CRPA. Demonstrable experience in coalition building and facilitation, preferably with and between organizations that support and promote the goals and objectives of the CRPA.
The Program and Coalitions Committee Activity Committee is also the only CRPA Committee that provides an additional opportunity to be named on the ballot. The petition process allows a candidate to be added to the ballot for this particular committee as an alternative method to self nomination and nominating committee selection.
For more election information, call CRPA headquarters at (714) 992-2772.
Download CRPA Election Candidate Petition Form here.
For a list of Assembly&/or Senate members and their contact information, please access them via www.sen.ca.gov and www.assembly.ca.gov/acs
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