Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060163
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The group vowed last month to challenge the Dec. 2 election, during which board President Steve Davidson and several other incumbent officers were re-elected. The group had attempted a board shake-up by offering its own slate of nominees that did not include Davidson or other incumbent officers.
The attempt failed, in part because proxy votes the group had secured for its slate were deemed invalid.
The group sought help from Roanoke lawyer Jeff Rudd, who prepared a petition that will be presented to the board at its meeting tonight. SPCA bylaws permit 35 or more members to petition for a meeting at which a new election may be held.
The petition, signed by about 60 members, says that "a new board of directors election is necessary to remove any and all questions associated with the legitimacy" of the December election.
The group had solicited votes by proxy for its slate of 25 nominees through a mailing to a majority of SPCA members. About 135 votes were returned.
But Davidson disqualified those proxy votes, saying they were not allowed under the organization's bylaws. But Davidson OK'd another 84 proxy votes that had been cast for a slate of nominees that included himself and other incumbents.
Davidson stands by his decision. But Rudd said this week, "There may have been some procedural mistakes made.
"I'm not interested in getting into a spitting contest with anyone or with any of the individuals I've spoken to," Rudd said. "But it was apparent that there was a very broad-based perception that something got screwed up somewhere.
"Right now, what we've got to do is rectify the situation and create an avenue where a properly elected board can be put in place."
Davidson says that if the group properly petitions for a new election, the organization will hold one.
"It suits me," he said. "But I think that with this particular group, no matter what we do, we're not going to please them. Their opinion of what happened and mine are entirely different. What happened was completely fair and accurate."
Rudd said the section of the SPCA bylaws that addresses proxy votes is somewhat vague. He has suggested to one board member that proxy requirements be based on the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act, typically used by lawyers preparing bylaws for nonprofit corporations.
There has been dissatisfaction among some SPCA members with the way Davidson and several other board officers have been conducting business. Some want the organization to take a more activist stance on animal rights issues, such as the controversial Boar Walla Hunting Lodge, an exotic-game preserve near Covington.
Infighting came to a head last month when Davidson publicly denounced SPCA Director and Shelter Administrator Tammy Javier. He later retracted his statement.
The "director" portion of Javier's title has since been removed. The SPCA board's Shelter Committee voted last month to reinstate the position of executive director, filling the job temporarily with the shelter's former special-events coordinator, Al Alexander.
Alexander has assumed most of Javier's directorship duties. Javier now works as shelter administrator, keeping her same pay and benefits.
by CNB