Given the volatile environment that is swirling around the upcoming convention, I would like to make a proposal that is outside the current debate. I think we should adopt the framework for deciding delegates & chartering new units (see blog entry below for a possible framework) and suspend the Bylaws to allow officer elections to be delayed until the next regularly scheduled meeting in October.
While unconventional, my idea would allow for both sides to enter into a campaign with known rules that would not be changed after the names of delegates have been submitted. It would allow an even playing field for both sides to compete.
I think both sides feel that the process has been tarnished by the other. I see the outcome now as bitter, divisive and fertile ground for years of retribution on both sides. The CRA/CCR split still haunts this organization and that was about 25 years ago. CRA went from claiming over 100,000 members to having less than 2,500 paid members.
I have been in CRA for almost 24 years. The trend lines during that time has not been favorable. The only reason the fish in this pond are getting bigger is because the lake dried up long ago and a shrinking puddle is all that remains.
The way both sides are conducting themselves, it would be right that we wander for another generation in the wilderness. Currently I foresee only three possible outcomes. Either the CRA implodes, or it is taken over by outside interests or it is putdown like a sick animal. Greig and England are spending their time fighting over the wishbone while the rest of the carcass was consumed long ago.
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I fully expect Karen England to try something in the courts to get an injunction against the current CRA leadership. What form this will take I’m not sure. Will she effectively halt the convention or just try to get more delegates seated? I wish I knew. In the long run, a “time out” might be just what both sides need.
I’d rather be in church on Palm Sunday instead of taking a vote on Sunday.
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My last thought on this issue—however this turns out—is that the current leadership will regret not dismantling the paper clubs when they had the ability to do so. The number of paper clubs in CRA is shockingly huge.