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The Davis Food Co-op Election runs from the mailing date on April 22, 2013 to the last day to vote, May 24, 2013. Anyone who is a member in good standing on May 24, 2013 is eligible to cast a ballot. Voting instructions, a link to a ballot, and other information is available at the Co-op Elections web page.
Voters are selecting candidates to fill three seats on the Board with three-year term. You can vote for up to three candidates. The top three vote-getters in the election will be seated to fill three-year terms as Directors, and the fourth and fifth-placed candidates will be seated as first and second Alternate Directors. Alternates serve for one year and vote at Board meetings when a Director is absent. Alternates are appointed to fill out a term if a Director resigns or is incapable of serving.
Final results, as of 5/29/13 (accepted by the Board of Directors on 6/3/13)
B. O. elected to a three-year term with 404 votes
Diane Parro elected to a three-year term with 467 votes
Ed Clemens elected to a one-year term as First Alternate with 359 votes
Scott Lay elected to a one-year term as Second Alternate with 343 votes
Bernie Goldsmith elected to a three-year term with 503 votes
Frank Fox (write in) received 58 votes
Any members who declare candidacy (using the form approved by the Board and available in the store or on-line) and receive votes can be elected as write-in candidates, either as Directors or Alternates. Candidates are invited to speak at our Annual Meeting; tickets are free to members and available through this link.
Voters will not be choosing whether or not to amend our Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation; no initiative petition that qualified under our Bylaws was submitted, nor did the Board vote to place amendments on the ballot.
B. O.
When I consider the reasons why I love living in Davis, the fact that we have a food co-op is unquestionably the foundation upon which I begin. A food co-op provides so much more than just a place to buy groceries—it’s a place that makes it easier to buy foods that are organic, fair trade, and local; a place that provides information about food and nutrition to its members through newsletters, pamphlets, and the Teaching Kitchen; and a place to just hang out and eat lunch. But more than anything, it’s a community.
As a member of this community, this past year I have been writing for the co-op newsletter, The Vine, and have greatly enjoyed it. When I write an article, my main hope is that I am empowering Co-op members with new information. I now am applying to serve as a director on the board of the Davis Food Co-op with this same goal of empowering Co-op members. If elected to the board, I will work on improving communication of board discussions and decisions to members at-large. I also plan to address the fact that several new grocery stores have opened up around us, and I would like to ensure that the co-op is making decisions that will help it continue to thrive and improve in light of this new competition.
[snip]
Diane Parro
I love food and I love the Davis Food Co-op. I feel very fortunate to live in a place where locally grown food is fresh, delicious, and abundant.
I have become increasingly interested in food and cooking is definitely my creative outlet. I experiment with ingredients I find in the bulk section as well as other departments and I have really enjoyed Co-op cooking classes. I want to serve on the Board of Directors because I would like to put my passion for food toward good work in our shared community.
As Deputy to Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor, I work on many pressing issues facing our residents but food access is the topic about which I feel most strongly. I have focused on learning about our food system and am trying to understand how we can increase the economic benefit of agriculture in our region. At the same time, I believe that every person needs good healthy food and we have it in abundance so we need to figure out how everyone can get enough. I am a participant in Yolo Food Connect which is a group made up of a large number of people from many varied organizations working together on issues of food access. The Davis Food Co-op is a great community partner and actively supports many programs addressing food insecurity. I think my energy and enthusiasm would make a worthwhile contribution to these efforts.
I have experience that makes me qualified for this position. I am currently on the Board of the Davis Farmers Market and have served as President of the Board at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis. I have a good understanding of policy based governance and while I held the position of Executive Director at the Yolo County Visitors Bureau, I worked very closely with the Board.
I am an outgoing, optimistic resident of Davis and would like you to vote for me!
L. Edward Clemens
Hello Fellow Co-op owners. I have been a member of the Davis Food Co-op for 9 years. This past year I had the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors as the 1st alternate. What I’ve learned is that the Co-op is a very complex organization. It is not just a food store – it is a member owned, cooperatively managed business that operates with specific goals that extend beyond the task of putting products on shelves. The decisions the board of directors makes are guided by the policies that require the business to be financially stable, to provide high quality food choices, to support our staff, to minimize our impact on the environment, to offer educational opportunities for our staff and members, to benefit our local producers and help foster the well-being of our community. Doing all this in a business that operates on a 1% profit margin is not easy. And – doing these things well, is what makes the DFC special.
I am running for a BOD position to support and develop the policies that have made the DFC a model viable community enterprise. During the next few years I will ask the BOD to work on policies that will broaden the economic range of it’s membership/customer base and to enhance educational opportunities for our staff and membership. The experiences I have that guide my decisions and reflect my values and skills are:
• One year’s experience as a member of the BOD. Familiarity with the Co-op’s End Policies, financial statements, Open Book Management, and review processes.
• Director of a multidisciplinary science program at UCSC. Focused on increasing the number of ethnic minorities prepared, with a science degree, to make policies that promote equity.
• Coordinator and active participant in the Tour de Cluck - a community activity that supports Farm to School programs. Worked with many people to help participants enjoy a multifaceted community event.
• Volunteer for the DFC Holiday Meal and Souper Bowl - this connects me with good people.
Thank you for reading my statement. I would appreciate your vote.
Scott Lay
Thank you for caring about our Co-op and reading my candidate’s statement. I am running for the Co-op Board of Directors not because I have a specific issue or complaint but because I want to serve an institution that I love and patronize nearly daily.
I am the President/CEO of the Community College League of California (“League”), an ethics-based and entrepreneurial organization, like our Co-op. I’ve been fortunate to work at the League for 18 years and have led the organization of 16 staff members for 6.5 years. I answer to a board, oversee a budget of over $3 million, organized under a 501(c)(3) umbrella.
I have lived in Davis for 18 years, and now live in the Co-op’s neighborhood. I Iove walking to our Co-op to purchase everything for local and sustainable meals. Before law school, I was a Superworker, and now seek to continue my involvement.
Perhaps the biggest current challenge of governing our Co-op is the competition of corporations that have sought to replicate our Co-op’s community values-focused business model. This trend may have been a win for our personal values but has created strong competition that will require continued vigilance to ensure progress toward the ideals we share.
As I was debating whether to file my candidacy, news came that one of our locally owned coffee shops may be swallowed by the green monster, which encouraged my filing.
To succeed in this new marketplace, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our Co-op is an educational and community center of people that share our common values. We need to celebrate and expand community events at and around the Co-op, while ensuring that our members seeking to do their daily shopping at the Co-op are not too adversely impacted.
We also cannot be too troubled by temporarily declining sales. Yes, at the end of the day, the Co-op is a values-centered business and must balance its books. However, with oversight by a policy-focused board and strong operational leadership, the best days for our Co-op are ahead.
Bernie Goldsmith
Dear friends and fellow members,
Last year, I was elected to serve a one year term as a director; I am writing to ask for your vote once again to continue to serve for a full term.
In this last year I have contributed to the board in three important ways: as an attorney who understands the needs of a large organization; as a long-time davisite who has been a member of the DFC for most of my life; and as a deeply involved and engaged citizen-activist who strives to promote local reliance and the cooperative model.
A good board is a well-rounded board, with directors representing certain vital skillsets. This year we will see the departure of the only other attorney on the board, Stephen Reynolds. Our cooperative needs at least one attorney on the board to function at its best; there are several specific matters currently before us which require an attorney’s knowledge and judgment. This is why I am running.
We have a close relationship with our local farmers, but I would like to see our cooperative take that to the next level, by taking an even more active role in incubating and encouraging more small local farm startups just outside of our city limits. I also believe we can better leverage our institution to encourage the creation of pop-up restaurants, guest kitchens, and other small, innovated food-related startups.
I believe a sustainable business is one which provides reasonable benefits and a living wage to its employees. If elected, I will explore our options for novel ways to achieve sustainable employee compensation and benefits.
I believe in the cooperative model and in local reliance for food, finance, housing, and healthcare. I believe that economic and environmental sustainability must go hand-in-hand, and that strong investment in the community and in local farms will result in a stronger food cooperative.
Organizations I have volunteered for, advised, or served include the Solar Community Housing Association, the Domes, the Tri-cooperatives on campus, Davis Farm to School, and multiple organic farms. It is my hope to continue my work on the Davis Food Co-op board. I would greatly appreciate your vote.
Thank you.
Franklin (Frank) Fox (write in)
Please cast your vote for me as a candidate for Board member on your Davis Food Co-op ballot. I, Frank Fox, and my wife, Moreen Libet, have been members of the DFC since 1983. I served on the board for two years prior initially winning as a write in alternate in 2010-11 and then winning as an alternate again and 2011-12.
The Co-op has always been our first choice for shopping since we arrived in Davis. We were members of the Berkeley Co-op in the 70’s. We sadly witnessed its demise due to political divisiveness. The Co-op in Berkeley spread itself thin and lost sight of the real reason for its existence – providing high quality, wholesome food in a cooperative, non-profit environment.
This is my vision and my agenda – let’s keep the Co-op about good healthy products, and value our access to the bounties our region offers us in seasonal produce, with fair-trade options, responding to shoppers/members/owners questions and needs. I love bagging my own groceries and buying from the bulk sections, meeting and greeting neighbors old and new, and even dancing and singing along with the great music. I love how students in our community want to work here. I am in favor of providing people with opportunities to work in our Co-op, with decent benefits and a positive work experience.
We all believe in democracy and support human rights, and we all have our own ideas on how to solve the world’s conflicts and ease suffering. I want the Co-op to remain our non-profit, cooperative grocery store, and not lose it because of disagreements about world politics.
I will work hard to keep the Co-op about good, healthy, nutritious, fair-trade, fair work, fair prices, and keeping our community healthy and informed about health, nutrition, taste, and the politics of food. I will also bring to the Board my experience as an educational administrator, program evaluator, researcher, teacher, performing artist former arts in public places commissioner, and Co-op super-worker.
Please join me in helping us protect the reasons we belong to the Co-op.
