[Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi Lehman, Blanco County News]

[Dale Rodman]

Last year Charles Tesar ran on a platform that he would take no compensation
from the PEC.  Has he lived up to his campaign promise?

 

  _____  

From: watchdogs-bounces at pec4u.org [mailto:watchdogs-bounces at pec4u.org] On
Behalf Of Milton Hawkins
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 4:10 PM
To: watchdogs at pec4u.org
Cc: 'Patrick Cox'; Charles Tesar
Subject: [Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi Lehman,Blanco County
News]

 

[Patrick Cox and Charles Tesar have proven themselves to be effective
advocates for reform and deserve to be returned to the Board.  And remember,
as Ms. Lehman makes clear below, that each PEC member can vote for a
candidate for each of the three open seats.  -  Milton]

 

PEC election season <http://www.blancocountynews.com/news/article/11855>
opens

By Jodi Lehman 

February 11, 2009 <http://www.blancocountynews.com/news/issue/2009-02-11>  

Three of the seven seats on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of
Directors are up for election this spring. On Monday, incumbent Director
Patrick Cox of Wimberley announced he will seek re-election to the District
7 seat.

Since being elected last year to fill the unexpired District 7 term of
former board president Bud Burnett encompassing the Kyle and Buda area, Cox
has been a leader in seeking reforms at PEC. Cox said he is "seeking
reelection to further the achievements of the past year" and will "continue
efforts to eliminate unnecessary expense and wasteful practices while
providing accountability and transparency." 

Besides District 7, positions up for election in 2009 are for District 1,
encompassing the cities of Marble Falls, Burnet and Bertram, and District 6,
which includes part of the City of Blanco and a large area extending
southeast from Blanco. District 1 incumbent Vi Cloud of Marble Falls and
District 6 incumbent Val Smith of Blanco did not return calls asking about
their plans to seek re-election. Smith has served on the PEC board since
1983 and Cloud has served as a director since 1994.

The PEC Board of Directors amended the cooperative's bylaws last month to
eliminate all advisory director positions as of June 2009. Dr. Charles Tesar
of Blanco was elected as advisory director from District 6 last year and
championed the elimination of advisory director positions, including his
own, since he viewed the non-voting positions as "at best ceremonial."

In response to this reporter's inquiry on Monday, Tesar said he will run for
the District 6 director position. "If elected to the voting post, I will
continue my aggressive posture in ferreting out wrong-doing, fostering
improvements in PEC performance, and supporting innovations in energy
procurement and conservation." 

Candidates must reside in the district they are running in, but voting will
be at-large again for this election cycle. Each PEC member will be able to
cast one vote in each of the races, regardless of the number of meters owned
by the member. In past years, a member could cast a vote for each meter in
co-op elections.

PEC has made nomination-by-petition materials available on its web site,
www.pec.coop, for members interested in running for a position on the
utility's board of directors. Members may also call PEC toll-free at
1-888-554-4732 to have the petition materials mailed to them, or they can
drop by any Pedernales Electric office to request the forms in person.

The materials include instructions for submitting biographical information,
nomination requirements, a background verification authorization form,
sheets for collecting member signatures and a map showing the recently
revised director districts.

PEC Communications Manager Anne Harvey explained that the district
boundaries do not always coincide with city or county boundaries, and often
follow physical and geographic landmarks such as major roads and rivers.
Part of the City of Blanco is in District 5 and part is in District 6.
Harvey said members who wish to run for a director position and are
uncertain of their district should call PEC for more information.

Completed nomination petitions must be postmarked or received by PEC by
April 6 for candidates to be eligible for the election, which will conclude
at the cooperative's June 20 annual membership meeting. Incumbent directors
seeking re-election are required to complete the petition process. 

"Last year's election demonstrated our desire to have open and democratic
elections, and the participation from the membership was wonderful," said
PEC General Manager Juan Garza. "Our commitment to democracy remains true
for 2009, and we believe our nomination procedure for directors is one of
the most open processes in the country."

PEC plans to mail ballots to PEC members in May. As in 2008, PEC has hired
Election Services Corporation, an independent election services provider, to
distribute, receive and tabulate ballots and handle other election matters.
PEC members will be able to vote for the candidates of their choosing by
mail, online or in person at the annual meeting.

Copyright 2009 Blanco County News 

E-mail: news at blanconews.comnews at blanconews dot com . Phone: (830)
833-4812 . Fax: (830) 833-4246 

 

Milton Hawkins    830-868-9075

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://103.greenbuilder.com/pipermail/watchdogs/attachments/20090211/40e542b1/attachment.html>