Dear 1978 Classmates:
Our class Nomination and Election (N&E) Committee graciously afforded me another opportunity to address my classmates with respect to my qualifications to serve as your class Vice President.
I am respectfully declining to add any further substantive information to my 500 word limit candidate statement previously furnished to the N&E Committee, and which was published to the class on our website.
My reasons for declining follow.
I am mindful of our class Charter that is geared to promote esprit de corps and fellowship. The last thing I want to do in this class election is run afoul of that aspiration.
Yet, I believe you should know the reason why certain candidates have been afforded this opportunity to furnish supplemental information about themselves.
The reason is simple: those afforded this opportunity to supplement our candidate statements abided by the prescriptions outlined by our class N&E Committee for this election–i.e., candidate statement content; length; submission deadlines; and most importantly, the method of promulgation of those statements to the class at large via the class website. The spirit behind their prescriptions was to give all candidates the identical opportunity to demonstrate why they were deserving of your vote.
Certain incumbent candidates, however, submitted additional information (to include their candidate statements) to our classmates by email on or before voting opened on September 21, 2023.
Candidly, I am perplexed by the motivation to email our classmates directly, rather than abide by the specification to post the candidate statements on our class website. Advantageous to those incumbents, their emails gave far broader and personalized access to our classmates than the class website did.
As I mentioned in my candidate statement, I had been a trial attorney for the past 38 years—Marine Corps and civilian practice. When something not proper occurs in a courtroom, counsel can seek a mistrial. It’s obvious that starting the election process over would not be in the best interest of our class.
Alternatively, counsel could ask for a “curative instruction” from the judge to the jury advising them to disregard certain evidence in an effort “to erase the blackboard” and re-level the playing field. Those instructions typically are futile, as it is difficult to un-ring the bell once the information is out.
Moreover, our class now has been in possession of the personalized emails from the incumbents for eight days. I strongly suspect that many– if not most–of our classmates have already voted in that period of time. Therefore, anything additional I furnish about myself at this point would be fruitless.
Notwithstanding the noble efforts of the N&E Committee to square the election process away—namely, giving us this supplemental opportunity to provide more information to you–I stand on my candidate statement originally published on our class website.
I am grateful for the outstanding efforts performed by the three member N&E Committee, especially those designed to ensure that our class elections are conducted fairly.
I am humbled to have been nominated for the VP position of our class. I am particularly grateful to those who have voted for me and supported my candidacy. For those classmates who have not yet voted, I will be grateful if you give me your worthy consideration.
I am looking forward to seeing you in Annapolis in a few weeks at our 45th!
Doc