Voting Open in GVEA Election
Voting opens Friday May 3 in the 2024 GVEA election. Members in Districts 4 and 7 will elect directors and all GVEA members are being asked to approve extensive changes to the cooperative’s Bylaws. In District 4, incumbent Gary Newman faces challenger Harmony Tomaszewski. In District 7, the candidates are incumbent Todd Adams, Cyrus Cooper, and Krista Zappone. Members can vote in two ways, electronically or by mail—however they chose to vote, the deadline for ballots to be received is 5 p.m. Tuesday June 4.
All GVEA members should receive two items in the mail. One is an election packet, which will contain a ballot and information on the proposed bylaw changes—the packet for members in Districts 4 and 7 will also include information on board candidates. Members also were sent a separate postcard with a password for electronic voting. Those wishing to vote by mail can simply follow the instructions to return the mail-in ballots. Unlike other Railbelt cooperatives, GVEA does not have in-person voting at its Annual Meeting, which precedes the election.
To vote electronically, you will need two things. One is an electronic voting number—this can be found on the back of the postage-paid return envelope in the election packet (for members in Districts 4 and 7 only, the electronic voting number should also be listed on your April, May, and June bills). The second is the password included on the separately mailed postcard. These can be used to log into the electronic voting site https://www.directvote.net/GVEA
Information on board candidates and district maps can be found on the GVEA election page; information on the proposed bylaw changes is located separately on the Bylaw page of the GVEA website. The bylaw changes are being presented as a package—members can approve or reject them all, but not vote on individual changes.
In District 4, which includes parts of downtown Fairbanks, Hamilton Acres, areas to the north and east of town, including the Steele Creek district, and the area along Chena Hot Springs Road, voters will choose between Gary Newman and Harmony Tomaszewski.
Newman has served on the GVEA Board since 2015 and is currently Board Secretary. Now retired, his work experience includes stints as Information Systems Administrator at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF), Energy and Housing Manager for the Tanana Chiefs Conference, and as an energy auditor. He has served on numerous other boards, including the Contra Borealis Dancers and Esro Road District Association, and sat on the UAF Master Plan Committee.
Tomaszewski has co-owned and operated an electrical contracting company with her husband and has a business selling birch syrup products. Her volunteer work includes serving as an alternate on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Equalization, being the founder and organizer of the Journey Food Pantry, and serving on the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Curriculum Board. She was a member of GVEA’s Member Advisory Committee (MAC) from 2019 to 2023, and served as its Chair.
District 7 candidates are the incumbent Todd Adams, Cyrus Cooper, and Krista Zappone. District 7 encompasses the area along the Parks Highway running north from Cantwell to the east of Nenana.
Todd Adams has served on the GVEA Board since 2021. He works as a Senior Project Manager at Siemens Industries, where his duties include the design and execution of utility monitoring and control systems. He is a member of the Fairbanks Retriever Club, where he has served as President and Vice-President.
Cyrus Cooper is an Advanced Logistics Analyst for the Strategic Alliance Business Group. He previously served for 28 years in the United States Air Force. His volunteer experience includes membership in the Healy Lions Club.
Krista Zappone works as a Department Supervisor for Three Bears Alaska. She previously worked as an Operations and Maintenance Manager for Senvion USA, which operates GVEA’s Eva Creek Wind Farm. Her other experience includes serving on the Denali Borough Assembly, where she is currently Deputy Presiding Officer, and as a member of the Healy Lions Club, where she served as Club President.
All GVEA members are being asked to approve a General Revision to the cooperative’s bylaws. This includes substantive changes, as well as ‘housekeeping’ revisions (such as changing “Chairman” to “Chair”). The substantive changes address a number of issues, including the conduct of board elections, rules about conflicts of interest for board members, and permitting electronic participation in the Annual Meeting. The bylaw changes are being presented as a package—members must approve or reject the entire package; they cannot vote on individual changes. The GVEA Board has recommended that members approve the proposed changes.
The proposed changes concerning board elections are extensive. Perhaps the most significant is a change in the threshold required to win a board election. Current language states that the leading candidate must receive at least 40 percent of the vote to win. If no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote, a run-off is held between the top two vote-getters. This procedure was last used in 2021 for the District 7 election. Under the proposed new language, the top vote-getter would be declared the winner of an election, regardless of what percentage of votes they receive. The reason given for making the change is to save the expense of run-off elections. It is also consistent with the practices of other Railbelt cooperatives.
Another proposed change would allow the Board to appoint a candidate running unopposed to a director’s seat, again to save on election costs. This is actually current board practice—the bylaw change would just simplify the process and confirm that membership approves of it. Under current rules, the District Nominating Committees must nominate at least two candidates. If they can only find one, they cannot advance any names, and the candidate is compelled to reapply to run through the petition process. This bylaw change would allow the District Nominating Committees to advance a single name if only one candidate could be found. If no other candidates emerge through the petition process, the Board would have the option of appointing an unopposed candidate to the director’s seat. Such appointments would not be mandatory—if, for some reason, the Board were not comfortable appointing a candidate, an election (with one name on the ballot) would still be held.
A second set of changes impacts director qualifications and tightens rules around potential conflicts of interest. One change reduces the proportion of annual income a director (or a business they are associated with) can make through contracts with GVEA. The current cutoff is one-third of a business’ income. The bylaw change would reduce this to 20 percent (based on a three-year rolling average). Another change clarifies that directors with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from board discussions of the issue (current language only forbids them from voting on it). These changes also make it clear that participation in a tariffed program by a director, their family, or employer does not disqualify them from board service. This applies to the net-metering program where members with solar arrays are able to sell excess power back to GVEA (and would apply to participation in a community solar program if one is launched).
A third set of changes would permit members attending the Annual Meeting virtually to be counted toward a quorum and to participate in any votes taken during the meeting. It makes explicit GVEA’s ability to hold an entirely virtual Annual Meeting if necessary, as was done from 2020 to 2022. It also allows for the electronic notification of members of the time and place of the Annual Meeting. This last change is likely related, at least in part, to a policy the Board is considering that would allow members to opt out of receiving the monthly Ruralite magazine. Since the official notification of the Annual Meeting appears in Ruralite, GVEA would need to find another way to provide this information to those who opted not to receive Ruralite.
Other proposed substantive changes include:
--That the termination of membership takes place only when GVEA is informed or determines that the act causing the end of membership (death, business dissolution) has occurred, not when the event takes place. This also clarifies that the estates of deceased members are responsible for charges incurred up to the termination of a membership.
--District Nominating Committees would no longer be able to nominate committee members as candidates for board seats. (Note--This change is listed among the substantive changes in the first section of the bylaw packet—however, while the new language is included in the complete revision that follows, it is not marked there in the bold text used to indicate the inclusion of new language.)
--GVEA would need to publish notices inviting members interested in running for the Board to apply to District Nominating Committees, as well as providing contact information and the names of committee members, within five days of each committee’s first meeting. Under the current rules, the District Nominating Committees cannot hold their first meeting until 5 days after the publication of this notice.
--Information about board candidates could be sent to members electronically, as well as through the mail (notification by mail is currently required). This may be connected to the possible opt-out policy for Ruralite.
--A change to allow the Board to hold its regular monthly meetings in any part of its service area (currently language stipulates they are held “in or near Fairbanks”). For example, if the Board wanted to, it could hold one meeting a year in Healy or Delta Junction. The Board of Homer Electric Association currently holds its monthly meetings in two different locations (Soldotna and Homer).
--Clarification that the Board can exercise discretion in deciding whether to remove a director who has missed more than two consecutive board meetings or 25 percent of meetings in a year. This is intended to allow the Board to consider the circumstances that led to these absences.
