During the next few months, approximately 15,000 voting members affiliated with 38 local executive councils will be nominating and electing their representatives and officers for the next term of office.

The Board of Directors, at its 39th regular meeting in October 2002, changed the terms of office of ALPA LEC representatives/officers from 2 to 3 years. Under this rule, all local councils in Election Group II will be electing representatives/officers for the next 3 years with a term of office beginning Mar. 1, 2005.

Each local council will conduct its nomination meeting no later than October 31 and after an audit of the returned nomination materials is complete, representative ballot notices will be mailed no later than November 22 (and may be mailed as early as October 22) to the eligible voting members of the local council. The results will be certified no later than December 10.

To appear on the election ballot, a nominee must declare his or her willingness to serve before the nomination meeting is adjourned. The declaration may be by fax, e-mail, or an x in the willingness-to-serve box on the nominating ballot envelope.

Officer ballot notices will be mailed to the eligible voting members of the local council no later than December 22 (and may be mailed as early as November 22) and the results certified no later than Jan. 10, 2005. Compliance with this schedule will provide new local council leaders with the opportunity to attend ALPA’s 2005 Leadership Conference.

During the election cycle, candidates for office may use the services of the ALPA Publishing Services Group to send campaign material to the voting members of their local council. A candidate may send campaign material via mail, e-mail, or a combination, but all expenses associated with sending campaign literature are the responsibility of the candidate.

Voting for representatives and officers will be conducted by telephone or through the Internet, using the services of a bonded, independent organization. Election notices sent to the members’ home addresses will provide information on how to use the telephone and Internet voting systems. Each member’s votes will be secret, and ALPA’s Election Ballot and Certification Committee (EBCB) will certify the results of the election.

The rules governing the nomination and election processes (ALPA Constitution and By-Laws, Article III, Sections 7 and 8) as well as candidates’ rights (Section 90 of the ALPA’s Administrative Manual) are available on the Members Only section of the ALPA website—www.alpa.org.

The local council representatives who are elected this fall will become members of their pilot group’s master executive council (MEC). As members of the MEC, they represent the interests of the members of their local councils at MEC meetings.

The elected representatives are also members of ALPA’s Board of Directors, which is the highest governing body of the Association.

ALPA as an organization has many goals, one of which is "to provide representation for all members of the airline piloting profession; to promote the interests of that profession; and to safeguard the rights, individually and collectively, of its members."

The Association’s representation structure and democratic process allows for each and every member to have his or her voice heard. Let your voice be heard through your participating in the process of nominating and electing your local council representatives and officers.