NRA 2.0

One of the key agenda items on Monday’s Board of Directors meeting was the election of officers and election of members of various committees of the board. The latter is different from a regular committee because under New York Non-Profit Corporation Law, committees of the board have the delegated authority of the Board of Directors and can bind the Board. The committees elected during this meeting include the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Audit Committee. Also elected were trustees for the Special Contribution Fund (aka Whittington Center) and the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund.

NRA In Danger has covered the election of the officers so I would refer you there for more details. Suffice it to say, it was a good day there for NRA 2.0.

With the exception of the Audit Committee and the trustees of the NRA CRDF, all were highly contested and all involved multiple rounds of voting as each person elected must have achieved a majority during that round of voting. For example, if a round of voting had 64 ballots cast, only candidates who achieved 32 votes or more would have been elected. Thus, if the leading candidate got 31 votes, they were not elected. What usually happened is that the lower vote getters would voluntarily remove themselves from contention and we would have another round of voting.

Italics indicate ex officio and names in bold generally indicate they are and were part of NRA 2.0.

Executive Committee

• Bill Bachenberg* – Chairman
• Mark Vaughan*
• Rocky Marshall*
• Thomas Arvas
• Bob Barr
• Charles Beers III
• Anthony Colandro
• Todd Ellis
• Al Hammond
• Craig Haggard
• Maria Heil
• Charles Hiltunen
• Robert Mansell
• Buz Mills
• Janet Nyce
• James Porter II
• David Raney
• Barbara Rumpel
• Amanda Suffecool
• Craig Swartz
• Linda Walker
• Bruce Widener
• Robert Wos

The Nominating Committee is composed of six Board members and three Non-Board members. All seats on the Nominating Committee were won by those proposed by the NRA 2.0 side. Italics indicate Non-Board members.

Nominating Committee

• Cam Edwards 
• Al Hammond
• Maria Heil
• Robbie Love
• Mitzy McCorvey
• Buz Mills
• Janet Nyce
• Susan Springhorn
• Robert Wos

Special Contribution Fund (Whittington Center) Trustees for Terms Ending in 2028

• Al Hammond 
• Robert Mansell
• Barbara Rumpel
• Craig Swartz

NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Trustees for Terms Ending in 2028

• Jonathan Goldstein
• Prof. George Mocsary, University of Wyoming College of Law
• Prof. Yuri Linetsky, University of Alabama School of Law.

Finally, there is the Audit Committee which is now a committee of the board as specified by Item 7 in the Final Order of the New York trial. Each member of the committee was proposed, one by one, by President Bill Bachenberg. After each proposed member was named, the Board had the opportunity to accept or reject the candidate. No one was rejected. Once all five were seated, the Audit Committee officially became an elected committee of the board.

Audit Committee

1. Charlie Beers
2. Rocky Marshall
3. Jonathan Goldstein
4. Theresa Inacker
5. John Richardson

Obviously, you will notice that I was elected to the Audit Committee. The best way I can put it is that I wasn’t looking for the Audit Committee but the Audit Committee was looking for me. I would also like to point out that while Charlie Beers has not usually been associated with “the reformers”, his was the first name proposed for this committee at a caucus of the NRA 2.0 team given the exemplary job he has done on the committee previously.

The reformers are firmly in charge and it is up to us to revitalize, reinvigorate, and reform the NRA. You saw it at the Meeting of Members and you can see the results from the Board meeting. It isn’t perfect but it is more than a good start. Last year was the start and now we are moving into the next stage where we solidified the leadership changes begun in 2024. We still have a long road in front of us and need, as Frank Tait has written, to show members and potential members that there is a value in being a NRA member again. I think there is or I would haven’t bothered running.