Four for Reform

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2024 NRA Board Election Results

May 2, 2024 by 6 Comments

Just hearing the Four for Reform got elected to three year terms was great. Now that I’ve seen the results – holy shit! They got three of top five plus Dennis Fusaro who was less known finished at 16th place. I wish Rick Ector had finished higher but I’ll be happy that he got a three year term.

There are some real surprises here. First, that two ex-Presidents, David Keene and John Sigler, did not get elected. Second, that Kim Rhode was not elected given her Olympic history and that she was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State of California. Third, that a sitting officer, David Coy, finished in 22nd place and “Friend of Susan” Janet Nyce in 24th place.

I am not sure why Carolyn Meadows who was too ill to testify in either person or by video in the New York trial finished in the Top 10. It could be name recognition or it could be a sympathy vote. It is my understanding that Wayne Anthony Ross of Alaska is also rather ill.

These results were all one could ask for and more. There were some who won that I’d rather not see on the Board but they are more than balanced out by Phil, Rocky, Buz, Jeff, Rick, and Dennis.

UPDATE: The vote for the bylaw amendment to add the new position of Chief Compliance Officer was “overwhelmingly” in favor of it. I think it is a good idea and I voted in favor of it. My only hesitation would be that the person selected should not have any connections to Bill Brewer.

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Four For Reform Elected!

May 1, 2024 by 3 Comments

The members of the NRA just sent a clear message to the Board of Directors. They want reform and they want it now. The old ways of doing business just won’t cut it anymore.

Jeff Knox posted this to Facebook approximately an hour ago.

The Four for Reform candidates – Jeff Knox, Dennis Fusaro, Phil Journey, and Rocky Marshall – got on the ballot thanks to the many members who signed their petition. Even with the shenanigans from the Nominations Committee of padding the ballot, all four were successfully elected to full 3-year terms.

Additionally, Rick Ector who bucked the Cabal by endorsing Wade Callender to be the next EVP was elected to a full 3-year term.

I have not seen who else was elected. I did see a comment from Gina Roberts on the Members Take Back Our NRA Facebook page that she did not win election. It will be interesting to see who will be running for the 76th Director.

As soon as I can obtain a complete list, I will post it.

Now for a word of caution. This was a great win for the members but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that the Board is just too damn large with 76 members and even five members committed to reform will have a hard time changing things. It will take time which, to be honest, the organization doesn’t have a lot of to spare.

One final note and this is not related to the Board election. Judge Phil Journey is the lead individual plaintiff in a Federal lawsuit along with the attorneys general of 21 states challenging the new ATF rule that redefines “engaged in the business” of firearm sales. I will have more on that suit in another post.

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NRA Ballots Due In One Month

March 28, 2024 by 4 Comments

Ballots for the 2024 NRA Board of Director election must be received on April 28th. Assuming you are a NRA voting member, if you have not sent in your ballot, do it now! Again, I would urge you to bullet vote and not vote for the full 25 candidates that you are allowed.

You can see my ballot here. I voted for the Four for Reform plus Rick Ector as he broke with the Old Guard to endorse Wade Callender for EVP. Owen Buz Mills is also worthy of your vote but he had requested people bullet vote for the Four for Reform. He was of the opinion that he would be elected anyway. I also voted to add the Chief Compliance Officer bylaw change even though I think it is closing the barn doors after the horses have escaped.

While I don’t think four or five people are enough to change the direction of the NRA but it is a start. With the issues facing the NRA and how the current Board has failed in its fiduciary duty, we need to start somewhere.

Below are two documents that were exhibits in the jury trial phase of the People of New York v. NRA et al. The first is a move by Joel Friedman, who by the way is on the ballot, to do most meetings in executive session so they can act in secrecy. This move was seconded by Tom King and Marion Hammer. Secrecy and “Wayne said” is what go the NRA into the trouble – both financial and legal – that it currently faces.

The second document involves a discussion of a Facebook group founded by Save the Second co-founder Ron Carter. Ron is a friend of mine and is one of the good guys. He is not only a competitive shooter but took a leave of absence from his day job in order to provide humanitarian aid to the civilians of Ukraine. Regardless of your opinion of that conflict, ordinary people needed help and he stepped up.

The discussion by the Board members revolved around certain Board members who had joined the Facebook group and what sort of retribution should be meted out to them. You will remember that the New York jury found the NRA guilty of retribution against whistleblowers. Look especially at the comments from Charles Cotton, Marion Hammer, and Willes Lee.

Here is a link to the document as it isn’t showing correctly when embedded.

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My 2024 NRA Ballots

March 11, 2024 by 3 Comments

Here are my ballots for the 2024 NRA Board of Director election and for the bylaw change.

Now to explain my votes. It should go without saying that I support the Four for Reform. I signed and promoted their petitions to be on the ballot as well as have supported them here. I would love it if they ended up as the top four winning candidates.

I would have voted for Owen Buz Mills except that he told Jeff Knox that he wanted people to bullet vote for the Four for Reform. As to why I added Rick Ector as the fifth candidate, his “missionary work” in Detroit in which he has introduced thousands of women is worthy of recognition. Just as importantly, he bucked the Old Guard aka “The Cabal” when he endorsed Wade Callender to be the next Executive VP of the NRA. These two factors were why I added Rick to the list of candidates for whom I voted.

While I consider the bylaw change to add a Chief Compliance Officer independent of the EVP as closing the barn doors after the horses have escaped, it is a reform in the right direction. I worked for 25 years in the financial services industry and we always had a Chief Compliance Officer. There were times I thought they were a bit “nit-picky” but their goal was to protect both the company and the client. If I had questions on something such as a political contribution, I knew I could reach out to them for advice on the best way to handle it.

While the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer must wait until the vote is tallied, it appears that a candidate has been hired in anticipation of the bylaw change. Robert Mensinger was hired by the NRA in September 2023 as a Managing Director. He holds a law degree, has had an extensive career as a compliance and business integrity officer, and spent almost 25 years working as a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator for the Small Business Administration, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Treasury Department. My only reservation about Mensinger is that he was selected for his present job by Wayne LaPierre upon the advice and counsel of Bill Brewer. Other than that, he seems ideal for the job. Only time will tell if I was worried about nothing which is my actual hope.

UPDATE: This is just a reminder that you should vote by NAME and not by NUMBER. There are 5 or so different ballots and the order of the names varies. It is randomized as a security measure.

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Vote Four For Reform

February 21, 2024 by 8 Comments

The official NRA magazines with the ballots for the 2024 Board of Directors election have started to arrive. The Complementary Spouse and I both received ours today.

I would urge you in the strongest possible terms to bullet vote, i.e, only vote for these candidates and no others, for the Four for Reform. While there are a couple of others deserving of your vote, it is essential that these four get elected.

All four are on the ballot as a result of your efforts in signing their petition. We need people like them on the Board as they won’t put up and shut up. Indeed, both Judge Phil Journey and Rocky Marshall were retaliated against for standing up for what is right. That retaliation has led to the NRA being charged with violating the State of New York ‘s whistleblower law. This is one of the charges that the jurors in the New York trial are in the process of deciding guilt or innocence.

So few of the eligible voters actually vote that every vote for these four is critical.

We don’t know the outcome of the trial in New York and we don’t know what remedies Judge Cohen will impose if the NRA is found guilty. He could dissolve the current board and reduce it in size. He could appoint a special overseer. He could appoint a temporary board of people who are not tainted such as these four. He could do all of these things and that is why support for clean, untainted candidates is so important.