NRA Director Elections 2010
By Jeff Knox
Manassas, VA –-(AmmoLand.com)- It is time again to elect one third of the absurdly large Board of Directors of NRA. Each year 25 seats come up for election for a 3-year term and then one of the runner-ups is elected to a 1-year term at the annual meetings. This year 24 of the current directors are running for reelection and there are 7 non-incumbent nominees also running resulting in 31 candidates for 25 seats.
As usual, the field includes a number of big names and celebrities, all of whom are certain to win. This category includes Bob Barr, Dave Butz, Richard Childress, Sandy Froman, Marion Hammer, Susan Howard, Karl Malone, Oliver North, Ted Nugent, and Don Young.
Normally Joaquin Jackson and Larry Craig would have made the shoo-in list, but Senator Craig’s highly publicized personal issues and Ranger Jackson’s televised comments suggesting that “assault rifles” should be restricted to 5 round capacity place their reelection in doubt. While both of these men have served well on the board and I consider both to be personal friends, I would have preferred it if they had stepped aside to give someone else a chance to serve.
Three others I think need to take a break are Donn DiBiasio, ,Robert Sanders, and Frank Bachhuber. Bachhuber declined to get involved in the David Olofson case even after I personally contacted him about it. I like Mr. Bachhuber and think he has done much good work on the Board, but I can’t support his reelection after he turned his back on Olofson in his home state.
DiBiasio and Sanders failed to make the cut last year, but Sanders was subsequently elected to the 76th Director position at the Annual Meeting while DiBiasio was moved into a seat vacated when another director resigned. I know little of Sanders, a former Treasury agent, but the silence around his name raises questions.
DiBiasio on the other hand is infamous for being cantankerous and territorial. Sources in his home state of Rhode Island report that he has blocked grassroots efforts that might challenge his preeminence there. I tried to give Mr. DiBiasio the benefit of the doubt until I overheard him badmouthing my father at a board meeting after Dad’s death.
The remaining 5 incumbents I’m leaving unendorsed are Joe Allbaugh, a Republican Party insider; Leo Holt, who should be, but is not known to Pennsylvania rights leaders; Lance Olson, who has been missing in action in Iowa for the past dozen years that he’s been on the board; James Porter who followed his father onto the Board and is now the Second Vice President; and Dwight Van Horn whom I simply don’t know.
On the other side of the ledger are four current directors whom I am supporting because I feel that they serve important roles on the Board. I am also endorsing all seven of the non-incumbent candidates, the six nominated by the Nominating Committee and the one nominated by petition only. Along with the other assets each brings to the table, they offer the added benefit of bringing new attitudes and ideas.
That makes a total of 11 candidates I am endorsing this year:
- Carol Bambery – the hardest working member of the Board.
- Tom King – a valuable and promising leader.
- Cleta Mitchell – an expert on political laws.
- Johnny Nugent – a true believer serving in the Indiana Senate.
- Pete Brownell – the third generation of commitment to gun owners.
- Ken Hanson – a very active attorney activist.
- Carol Hallett – a well connected conservative.
- Marion Townsend – representing muzzle loaders and more.
- Steve Schreiner – an unrelenting Second Amendment advocate.
- Graham Hill – hero of shooting programs for the disabled.
- Matt Blunt – the well respected Ex-Governor of Missouri.
NRA members with at least 5 consecutive years of membership and Lifetime Members are eligible to vote and should have received a ballot in their most recent NRA magazine. Eligible voters can vote for up to 25 candidates, but ballots marked for fewer than 25 are valid and more powerful. I strongly encourage you to vote for only those eleven candidates I have endorsed or a subset of them and no more.
Of course, if you personally know any of the candidates and wish to support them, I fully respect your decision. In such a case, I hope you will take a moment to let me and others know what I’m missing by posting information in the NRA Board of Directors section of www.GunVoter.org. I also invite any of the candidates to post information about themselves and answer questions members might have in the www.GunVoter.org forums.
Typically fewer than 7% of eligible NRA members cast a ballot. That’s embarrassing. It’s your association – it’s your vote. Make it count.
About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org