Bernard L. Pacella, M.D. will be the new president-elect of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Other successful candidates are Stephen K. Firestein, treasurer; Marvin Margolis and Helen C. Meyers, both elected Councilors-at-large.
The election was probably the most eventful and strongly contested one in the history of the Association. In a rare move, three names were placed in nomination by petition, among them the successful candidates Drs. Pacella and Meyers. Observers have speculated that the petitions, as well as the unusually high number of candidates and the strenuous campaigns on their behalf, are signs of the vigor of the organization and of the controversy surrounding a number of questions being decided by the Executive Council and the membership. It has also been suggested that the nomination and election of Dr. Meyers might reflect dissatisfaction that there were no women among the candidates put forward by the nominating committee.
Dr. Pacella, now completing his third term as treasurer of the Association, will become president-elect at the May meetings, when George H. Allison will succeed Homer C. Curtis as president. At that time, Drs. Firestein, Margolis, and Meyers will assume their new offices.
In a statement for The American Psychoanalyst, Dr. Pacella expressed the honor and privilege he felt at having been elected to the highest executive position in the Association.
In addition to those elected, the candidates were: for president, Boyd L. Burris, Paul A. Dewald, and Harry Trosman; for treasurer, David A. Carlson; for Councilor-at-large, Charles A. Mangham, Jack L. Ross, and Ralph E. Roughton. The longstanding policy of the Association has been to announce only the winner. So the details of the vote are known only to the tellers, and they aren't telling.