Dear Working Group members, On behalf of the Co-Chairs of this PDP Working Group, it might be helpful to reiterate the procedures in the Working Group Guidelines (see also below) for selecting a Co-Chair. Given those procedures and the fact that there is no requirement to hold an election if one is not deemed necessary, here is the suggestion to the Working Group for proceeding with the Co-Chair selection process: 1. Until end of day 08 May Working Group members should send either their objections to Brian Beckham’s becoming a co-chair and/or specific questions for Brian to the list; 2. If no objections or questions are received, or Brian chooses to answer any specific questions that come in before or during the 09 May meeting, the Working Group will have the opportunity to confirm Brian’s appointment during the 09 May meeting. In fairness to Brian, we strongly urge that any questions for him be submitted in writing by COB on May 8. 3. If objections are received or questions submitted that warrant a discussion/response on a call, these be addressed at the 9 May meeting at which next steps can also be decided (including an election if need be). Best regards, Mary, Ariel, Berry, and Julie GNSO Working Group Guidelines: https://gnso.icann.org/en/council/annex-1-gnso-wg-guidelines-30jan18-en.pdf[gnso.icann.org] “2.1.4.2 Election of the WG Leaders Unless a Chair has already been named by the Chartering Organization, normally a Chair will be selected at the first meeting of the WG. Until that time, the Chartering Organization’s liaison may fulfill the role of interim Chair. A Working Group may elect to have Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs. Under extraordinary circumstances, ICANN staff may be requested to perform administrative co- ordination of the WG until such time a Chair can be appointed. Once selected, a Working Group Chair will need to be confirmed by the Chartering Organization (CO). The newly elected Chair will act on a provisional basis until the Chartering Organization has confirmed the appointment. If there are any objections to the selected Chair, the CO will conduct a vote to establish whether there is sufficient support for the selected Chair according to the voting procedures of the CO. If not, the Working Group will be requested to reconsider their choice for Chair and return to the CO with a new proposal. In the unlikely event that the selected Chair is rejected by the CO, the CO must articulate its reason for the rejection and the WG must be able to ask for reconsideration of the decision. (Emphasis added) Section 2.2: A suggested procedure to conduct elections may be: Nominations or self-nominations; Statements of qualifications from candidates, which sets forth the qualifications, qualities and experience that they possess that will serve the particular WG; Vote by simple majority; Notification of and subsequent confirmation by the Chartering Organization of results of actions”