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I agree that it is an issue that should be addressed when the current workload abates. I think it's important that we consider this from an another angle, namely, avoiding the appearance of impropriety. The appearance - or perception of the appearance - of impropriety can be just as damaging as the actual existence of impropriety. From a conflicts perspective, it seems to me that allowing a Councilor who has a conflict to vote, albeit not in a personal capacity, can certainly create the appearance of impropriety - here, a conflict. It's certainly possible that some could attribute that perception not only to the Councilor, but also to her/his constituency and the Council itself. I think Bruce's suggestion of a mechanism for temporary appointments of councilors is a good one. It certainly would address the appearance of impropriety issue. K -----Original Message----- From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Tonkin Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 12:01 AM To: Council GNSO Subject: RE: [council] Regarding voting rules for conflict of interest - proxies Hello Chuck,
I agree with you that we should consider additional special situations
with regard to voting, but we will probably have to deal with them after we get finished with the huge current workload.
Sounds fair to me - just thought I would mention it, while we are considering voting rules.
It doesn't seem to me that a constituency (or in the future a stakeholder group) should lose a vote because their elected councilor has a personal conflict of interest.
Agreed. But at the same time I do think the issue of personal conflicts of interest need to be taken into account. So I think a mechanism that allows a constituency to retain their votes, but prevents an individual from being put in a difficult situation is worthwhile. Another example in the past is how to handle elections to the Board, where a candidate is a sitting Council member. There has been a mechanism used in the past where the constituency can appoint a person to vote on behalf of the constituency, in place of the Council member. Regards, Bruce Tonkin