Dear Colleagues, As you may recall, when we were creating the NARALO, we agreed that we would select our ALAC members by a rough consensus process (as described in Para. 12 of the Operating Procedures, http:// www.icannwiki.org/NA_RALO_OP). This year, we will be selecting two ALAC members, one for a two-year term and the other for a one-year term. As Interim Chair, I would like to describe what I see as the path forward on this consensus process. (a) If we have only one candidate, I propose that we seek consensus around seating that candidate for the two-year term. We will then engage in a series of arm-twisting exercises to see if we can coerce someone to serve for the one-year term. (b) If we have exactly two candidates, I would ask the candidates themselves to see if they can agree on who will serve the one-year term and who will serve the two-year term. If they can agree, then we will seek consensus around seating them both for their agreed terms. (c) In the event that two candidates cannot agree on term lengths *or* if we have more than two candidates, then I would ask all of the candidates to speak to the NARALO General Assembly, both in person in San Juan and by email on the NA-Discuss list, about their vision, commitment, expectations, experience, et al., and then, after some appropriate amount of time, the length of which we should discuss, I would like to call for an anonymous straw poll (anonymous, but verifiable by the Chair and Staff) to gauge the support for each. If the results of the straw poll suggest that there are two obvious choices, I will share the results with the candidates privately and see if they can agree on who should sit for which terms and who should stand down. If they can agree, then we will have a public ratification vote, or "hum," to make the results official. If they cannot agree, then we will continue the discussion and, after some appropriate time to be agreed by all, we will call for a public vote. (d) While it would be nice to seat two candidates while in San Juan, this is an aspirational goal, not a fixed deadline. We should take whatever time is necessary to ensure that we have rough consensus around the process itself. As long as we have new ALAC members seated by the Los Angeles meeting in October, we should consider ourselves "on track." * * * * * After the ALAC election is complete, we will call for formal election of a permanent Chair for the General Assembly. -- Bret