by In years gone by, I have done a round-up of various endorsements for the NRA Board of Directors. This year there is only one person who deserves your vote for election to the NRA Board of Directors. That person is Frank Tait.
I have gotten to know Frank fairly well over the past three years. He has the qualifications needed to represent the members of the NRA on the Board. These qualifications include being a NRA Training Counselor as well as an impressive business background in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Even more important, he has stepped up seeking intervenor status when it was obvious that neither the NRA leadership nor the New York Attorney General’s Office was looking out for the membership in the dissolution lawsuit. That took courage and that took initiative. If that was the only thing he ever did that would have been enough to secure my vote.
It should be noted that Frank Tait is on the ballot by petition. He is the only petition candidate. That means he was put on the ballot by the members. The remaining 29 candidates on the ballot were put there by the Nominating Committee. That means they were all vetted as people who wouldn’t rock the boat and who would be good loyal “friends of Wayne.” Anecdotally, I have heard that when Judge Phil Journey made his motion for an examiner in the NRA bankruptcy case there were board members furious at the Nominating Committee for failing to ensure he would be a faithful “friend of Wayne”. I think they probably learned their lesson – unfortunately.
With the death of John Cushman and the resignation of Todd Rathner plus the 76th Director elected at the Annual Meeting, 28 out of the 30 people on the ballot will be elected. To increase the odds that Frank is elected, you need to “bullet vote” for Frank.
Jeff Knox explains it below:
By casting a ballot with only Frank Tait’s name marked, it leverages that vote, improving the odds of Frank’s election, and reducing the chances that any votes I might cast for other candidates might help push Frank down in the overall rankings, costing him a seat.
The February issue of the American Rifleman and Shooting Illustrated had an article by Jason Ouimet, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. In big bold red letters it said “Your Vote Matters.” While he was talking about the Virginia gubernatorial election, the same could be said here. The average NRA Board election has a 5-6% turnout of the eligible voters. That is pitiful and is a primary reason the same old “friends of Wayne” get elected year in and year out. If you want to see change, you need to vote and encourage your friends who are voting members to vote. Of course, that vote should only be for Frank.
Frank Tait will be one of 76 on the Board. That in and of itself won’t give him much influence. However, if elected, he can resume his motion to intervene in the dissolution lawsuit. He would have a statutory right to intervene and this time he could not be denied by Judge Cohen for not being a board member.
It is time to elect someone who is going to look out for the members and not him or herself.
