LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 132

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132 SYNOD REPORTS

dent of the Synod, the Board of Directors of the Synod, or any
agency of the Synod.”
George J. Gude, Chairman

R7-08
Resolution 7-22 Committee

The 2004 Convention of Synod adopted Res. 7-22, which
charged the chairmen of the Commission on Structure, Commis-
sion on Constitutional Matters, and Committee for Convention
Nominations TO CONSIDER WAYS IN WHICH THE PROCESS
OF NOMINATING AND ELECTING LEADERS MIGHT BE
IMPROVED, and that they report their findings, suggested proce-
dural changes, and possible bylaw changes to the 2007 convention.
The chairman of the Committee for Convention Nominations was
to serve as the convener of the committee. The initial meeting was
held in St. Louis on December 5, 2005. Subsequent meetings were
held in St. Louis on August 21, 2006 and February 26, 2007.

Preliminary discussions focused on the task of the committee. It
was agreed that it is critical that the convention not have the per-
ception that the Committee for Convention Nominations (Bylaw
3.12.3) is biased. The question was discussed as to whether there
would be advantages to expanding the committee so that all dis-
tricts would be represented in the nomination process at every con-
vention. The consensus was that although it could be beneficial to
have all districts represented for every convention, it would dou-
ble the cost to the Synod, since twice as many people would attend
all of the meetings. Since the present system involves half of the
districts at each convention, that appears to be an acceptable pro-
cedure. Within the span of two conventions, all districts are repre-
sented on the committee.

Following the preliminary discussions, the 7-22 Committee
identified some specific areas of concern. A primary concern was
to develop a way for the Committee for Convention Nominations
to provide helpful information to the voting delegates about the In-
dividuals who are nominated for various offices. This is especially
necessary in the case of nominations from the floor.

Providing information for floor nominations has been a prob-
lem for a number of past conventions of the Synod. The 2004 con-
vention of Synod adopted a change pertaining to floor nominations
that will be utilized for the first time at the 2007 convention. The
change is reflected in Bylaw 3.12.3.7.b, which, in part, states:
“Floor nominations shall be brought individually before the con-
vention for approval before being added to the ballot.” The 7-22
Committee requested an opinion from the CCM to clarify this
bylaw and received the opinion that in order for a nomination from
the floor to be placed on the ballot, a majority vote on an individual
would be necessary before that name would be added to the slate of
nominees.

Since some of the committee’s suggested changes do not re-

quire a change in the bylaws, the committee determined to convey —

their thoughts to the present nominating committee for its consid-
eration. One suggestion is for the Elections Committee of the con-
vention. A number of these were suggestions that came from the
2004 Committee for Convention Nominations.

2007 Convention Workbook

The suggestions are as follows:

1. Make sufficient time available for this committee to meet and
accomplish its task with competence. With the volume of
nominations, it was a struggle for the committee to review and
prioritize the nominations assigned to them within the time
frame allotted to each meeting.

2. Update all current ballot forms used by the CCN with provision
made for specific categories, e.g., nominations for the
“Teacher” position on the CTCR should read “active teacher”
to distinguish from teachers who may have retired.

3. Nominate up to four persons for each position (short, but
important to the process of improvement).

4. Remind qualified incumbents to submit all proper forms to be
considered for renomination, INCLUDING THE FORM
STATING THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE. This will
bring their history up to date and be compatible with other
nominees.

5. Glean incomplete forms prior to the first meeting of the CCN
and place those removed into a separate file folder.

6. Provide the CCN with a list of persons currently appointed to
commissions and boards together with their terms of office.

7. At their second meeting, the CCN should elect three to serve
during the interim between conventions (chairperson and two
others).

8. THIS SUGGESTED PROCEDURE IS FOR THE ELEC-
TIONS COMMITTEE AT THE CONVENTION: We would
encourage the Elections Committee to identify the nominations
that come from the Committee for Convention Nominations
with an asterisk or other signage. This would be for both paper
and electronic ballots.

Since the Synod utilizes a Committee for Convention Nomina-
tions and expends a considerable amount of money to obtain qual-
ified individuals to serve in various capacities, the 7-22 Committee
suggests to the present chairman of Elections to consider with his
committee the possibility of identifying on the screen the names
that the committee is proposing to fill various positions in the
Synod (Suggestion 8). This can be done with an asterisk or a star or
other signage before or after the name. A number of years ago,
when delegates marked a ballot, such a procedure was not neces-
sary. The delegate had plenty of time to review the materials indi-
cating the names of those being proposed by the Committee for
Convention Nominations. In our present electronic voting system,
there is much less time to register a vote.

A final proposal for the convention to determine is a suggested
change in Bylaw 3.12.3.7, which addresses the subject of floor
nominations. This change is being offered in the form of an over-
ture to this convention. The change is intended to enable the chair-
man of the Committee for Convention Nominations to provide the
names and qualifications of floor nominations to the voting dele-
gates in time to give such nominations appropriate consideration.

This report is respectfully submitted by

Timothy Sims, Chairman, Committee for Convention
Nominations

George Gude, Chairman, Commission on Structure

Albert Marcis, Chairman, Commission on Constitutional Matters