The Candidates Council is up and running. At the May meeting in Philadelphia, excitement and enthusiasm permeated the room as candidate representatives from twenty-one of the twenty-eight affiliated institutes of The American gathered to further deliberate the structure, goals, and tasks of their new organization. David Orbison, interim chair of the Council and its Steering Committee, challenged the group to address two basic questions: How will the organization be structured, and how will it be integrated with The American? He reported on the work of the Steering Committee, which had formulated a number of goals for the organization: to recruit all candidates for affiliate membership; to establish consistent and fair procedures for the placement of candidates on all committees of The American, with voting rights in most instances; to address the diverse needs of candidates throughout the country; to serve as an information clearinghouse for candidates and local candidate organizations; to encourage candidate participation and attendance at national meetings; and to foster an analytic identity among candidates.
To accomplish these goals, eight task forces were established, each chaired by a member of the Steering Committee: Candidate Empowerment, Michael Bader; Bylaws, Glenn Good; Diversity, Sharon Zalusky; Arrangements, Mel Berg; Communications and Publications, Leslie Brown; Finances, Sheila Judge; Nominations, Don Spivak; and Membership, Jonathan Aronoff. Each representative to the Council was asked to join one of these groups; other candidates who wish to participate are encouraged to contact the task force chairs directly. Pending elections and the adoption of formal bylaws, Katherine Fraser agreed to continue as secretary, and Sheila Judge accepted the position of treasurer. Each representative to the Council was also asked to complete two assignments. By June 15 a list of all candidates from each institute, including name, address, telephone number, and affiliate membership status, was to be sent to Jonathan Aronoff. By the same date any ideas concerning the bylaws were to be sent to Glenn Good. A written request for this information was sent to institutes not represented at the spring meeting. Representatives who have not yet attended to these tasks are asked to do so as soon as possible.
Beginning with the next issue of TAP, the candidates column will become a regular feature. Through it, candidates will be kept informed of the ongoing activities of the Council and its task forces. Equally important, the column will allow candidates and candidate organizations to submit items, large or small, that might be of interest to candidates across the country. Additionally, TAP will provide candidates a page in each issue for the publication of lengthier articles. Leslie Brown, in her capacity as chair of the Task Force on Communications and Publications, will be coordinating these efforts. She may be reached at 410–583–0458.