Dear Councillors, While agenda item 6 on our agenda for the Council meeting on 29 September, "Approval of Appointment of an Interim GNSO Representative to the Empowered Community Administration" only seems to deal with the interim arrangements, we would like to take the opportunity to express our concerns over some of the discussions in the Drafting Team on revisions to GNSO Bylaws to account for participation in the Empowered Community. While we support the idea of the Council as the voice of GNSO in the Empowered Community, we note that there seems to have been proposals for alternative voting structures that would change the position of the Councillors appointed by the Nominating Committee. The current ICANN Bylaws describe the NCA members of the GNSO Council as "entitled to participate on equal footing with other members of the GNSO Council including, e.g. the making and seconding of motions and of serving as Chair if elected." Just as the NCA members of the ICANN Board, the NCA members of the GNSO Council fulfil a very important function in representing the parts of the GNSO community trough a wide community process that doesn't fall within the scope of the existing constituencies. This "none of the above" community should have an equal voice in decisions related to the Empowered Community. Therefore we want to make it clear that we can not support any proposals to alter the Bylaws in such a way that the NCA Council members would not have the same representation and voting power in matters related to the Empowered Community as they have in other Council matters. Respectfully, Avri Doria (Former GNSO Chair, while appointed by Nominating Committee) Carlos Raúl Gutierrez (NCA) Julf Helsingius (NCPH NCA) Erika Mann (Board Member, NCA elect) Valerie Tan (CPH NCA)