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2011 Annual Election
Gets Underway

14 Council Seats Open

There are 14 Council seats open in this year's election. In the Eastern Region, there are six Principal category seats, all of which are five-year terms, two Chorus category seats for five-year terms, and one five-year seat for a Stage Manager. In the Central Region, there is one five-year Principal seat available. (There are no Central Region Chorus or Stage Manager seats available this year.) In the Western Region, there is one five-year Principal seat available, one five-year Chorus Seat, and two five-year Stage Manager seats available.

Candidate (and Nom Com) Qualifications
General Criteria: Only a member who is in good standing, who has attained the age of 18 and has been in good standing for the two-years prior to nomination, shall be eligible to be an Officer, Councillor or Regional Board member. Candidates must also meet the qualifications for the applicable employment category (Principal, Chorus or Stage Manager) as defined below.

Principal Councillor Criteria: In addition to meeting the general criteria, a candidate running in the Principal category must be a member in good standing who has performed Principal work under no less than two Equity contracts or who has worked no less than one Equity contract performing Principal work for no less than ten weeks.

Chorus Councillor Criteria: In addition to meeting the general criteria, a candidate running in the Chorus category must be a member in good standing who has performed Chorus work within five years preceding the nomination or appointment to office (for the 2011 election this date is June 1, 2006) provided the member has not worked as a Principal performer for a total of 52 weeks within two years prior to such nomination or appointment to office (for the 2011 election, this date is June 1, 2009).

Stage Manager Councillor Criteria: In addition to meeting the general criteria, a candidate running in the Stage Manager category must be a member in good standing who has worked as a Stage Manager five years preceding the nomination or appointment to office (for the 2011 election this date is June 1, 2006): (1) under Equity contract for at least 30 weeks solely as a Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager; or (2) under no less than five Equity contracts solely as a Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager.

Becoming a Councillor
To run for Council, you must first be nominated, either by the Nominating Committee or by Independent Petition.

Nomination by the Nominating Committee
If you wish to be nominated for a Council seat by a Nominating Committee, you must submit a letter of intent, requesting such consideration, to the Equity office in your geographic Region. Your letter of intent should state (1) you are a member in good standing resident in the applicable region; (2) you are eligible to run in accordance to the Constitution and By-Laws; (3) if nominated by a Nominating Committee you agree to run for a designated term and (4) if elected you will serve. Upon receipt of your letter, an Election Packet will be sent to you, and the appropriate Nominating Committee Chair or Equity Staff will contact you to set up an interview with the Committee. The Election Packet contains forms on which you must indicate the employment category (Principal, Chorus, Stage Manager) for which you wish to run and written documentation of your eligibility to run for that seat as defined in the Candidate Qualifications section above. Interviews are held in person, or by telephonic hook-up for Members living and/or working outside their Equity office city.

You must submit your completed Election Packet forms to the applicable Equity office by the deadline and prior to your interview day. This year's deadline for submission to a Nominating Committee is Monday, February 7, 2011 (by 5:00 PM EST in all offices).

Nomination by Independent Petition
Members may also be nominated to run for the Council by Independent Petition. Seventeen members in good standing, from the applicable Region, must sign this petition. Candidates nominated by Independent Petition must meet the same criteria as those nominated by a Nominating Committee. Any eligible member is free to run for office by Independent Petition rather than by the Nominating Committee process, and by doing so ensures the membership will have real choices when they receive their ballots. Candidates who are not selected by a Nominating Committee are also free to run by Independent Petition.

If you would like to run by Independent Petition, you must submit a letter of intent stating that: (1) you are a member in good standing resident in the applicable region; (2) you are eligible to run in accordance to the Constitution and By-Laws; (3) you are willing to be nominated and placed on the ballot and (4) if elected you will serve. Upon receipt of your letter, you will be sent an election packet, which includes the same forms and documentation to be completed and submitted as described in the Nomination by Nominating Committee section above, as well as the Independent Petition Nomination Form, included in the packet. You must submit your Independent Petition, signed by at least 17 members in good standing resident in the applicable region, along with the other Election Packet forms by Friday, March 4, 2011 (by 2:00 PM EST in all offices).