CYCC 2011 voting result

[Bob Armstrong]

Expansion of CFC Conflict of Interest Rule?

Hi Gary:

You are right that so far the Handbook section on conflict of interest only applies to officers - Bylaw 2 , section 15.

15. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Whenever a proposal is being considered which puts any CFC officer in a potential conflict of interest he shall declare the conflict and abstain from discussion, voting or other involvement in the matter.

I would note, only as one example of the current conflict controversy, that Daxin ( Anna ) Jin is an officer, though a non-executive officer, Women's Coordinator. She was chair of the Richmond Hill organizing committee, and voted. Was this acceptable? This is one example of the problem, and there may be more. I personally have great difficulty seeing conflict of interest applicable to tournament bid situations, unless they involve pecuniary benefit to the officer in question. But Peter has shown that the definition accepted today may be broader. Is there a reason that this broader definition should not apply to bid situations?

Also, the discussion has expanded beyond officers to target any governor who had a conflict of interest ( though there is no Handbook section on this ).

I think the matter up for consideration is not only whether there were any conflicts under existing legislation, but also whether the word " officer " should be amended to read " governor ", to expand its scope.

So there are a number of questions to be answered:

1. does conflict of interest go beyond just pecuniary or equivalent benefit?
2. If so, should it apply to CFC Bid situations, to officers, under s. 15?
3. If so, were there undeclared conflicts of interest in the CYCC or CO voting?
4. Should the conflict of interest be expanded to apply to ordinary governors, as well as officers?

What are people's answers to these 4 questions ( and are there more outstanding questions? )?

Bob

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Expansion of CFC Conflict of Interest Rule?

Bob,

The officers are listed in section 2 of the bylaws. A few paragraph below the conflict of interest guidelines.

OFFICERS

The Officers of the Federation shall be

the members of the Board of Directors;

the Masters Representative;

the Women’s Co-ordinator;

the Junior Co-ordinator;

the Executive Director; and

any other general Officer who may be elected at the annual meeting of the Assembly or appointed as an Officer from the Assembly by the Board of Directors between the annual meeting at the Assembly. Upon the vacation from office of any officer between the annual meeting the President may fill the vacancy for the rest of the term by way of appointment.

From the CFC web site, here's your Officers and Board of directors.

http://www.chess.ca/contactus.shtml

It also lists the governors.

Which brings us back to the question of if the bidders were voting was there a conflict of interest as defined in the bylaws?

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: Expansion of CFC Conflict of Interest Rule?

Hi Gary:

As a practical matter re this conflict of interest discussion, I think it is important to note Bob G's announcement that the Executive, Toronto Bid and Richmond Hill Bid, all agreed to a final resolution of Richmond Hill getting the CYCC, and Toronto the CO. So as far as I can tell as a non-executive, this discussion it seems to me is not about going back to change anything re the awarding of 2011 Bids.

But it is a discussion about the future - what is " conflict of interest " re bidding, and generally, and should the CFC Handbook section be expanded to include governors.

Bob

[Peter McKillop]

Re: One Last Try

... I'll wait to hear what other governors think about this possible limitation on governors becoming involved in bids - I concede your point is definitely arguable ( and perhaps right ).

But I have great difficulty with it on the ground, where bids are few and far between, and governors are supposed to be pro-active in promoting the good of the CFC, especially re bids. ...

Bob, no one, including me, has said that there should be a limitation on governors becoming actively involved in bids (I mean in key capacities not just volunteering for grunt work). What I'm saying is that conflicts of interest should be recognized and dealt with in a correct manner (a governor should withdraw from discussion and voting on a bid if s/he is also acting in a key role for one of the bidders). There are some 60 governors, right? It's not like the CFC will be incapacitated if a handful of them are involved in bids from time to time.

You mention that governors are supposed to be proactive in promoting the good of the CFC. Is it a good thing if there are people/organizers who may see the CFC's bidding processes as unfair or biased when it would be so simple to avoid such a perception with appropriate conflict of interest guidelines?

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: One Last Try

Hi Peter:

Glad we managed to continue this conversation - it is helpful to the CFC, even if sometimes the debate is not at the highest level.

Here is the problem as I see it. Richmond Hill and Toronto perceive there will be a close vote for the 2011 CYCC early on, when they are just thinking about bidding. They would like to enlist some CFC Governors/Officers to their organizing committee, to draw on their expertise in drawing up their bids, and to make their bids more credible.

Given your take on things, they would both be shooting themselves in the foot to enlist a govenor/officer, because they then lose that governor's vote in a close vote.

Seems to me this is a problem.

Bob

[David McTavish]

Re: Expansion of CFC Conflict of Interest Rule?

U defend like a bulldog. Tharvardsson wishes you all the season's best. Long live you and the CFC. U are truly a great grassroots governor/

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: Expansion of CFC Conflict of Interest Rule?

Hi David:

When I decided to stand for CFC Governor, I saw a major problem - CFC communication with the membership. I set as one of my main tasks, bringing CFC issues to the attention of the CFC members, and being available to answer questions, and debate CFC positions. I feel I have gone some ways towards this goal of mine - I feel members know a lot more about CFC activities and policies than they used to.

I hope I have been doing this in a reasonable fashion.

Bob

( P.S. Don't know whether you were complimenting me or criticizing me ! )

[Bob Armstrong]

CFC Conflict of Interest Debate Goes to CFC Governors

Thanks to all who have contributed to this debate on conflict of interest in the CFC - it is clearly an issue the CFC must look at. So I have now taken the debate to the CFC governors, by posting the following on the confidential CFC Governors' Discussion Board:

November 27, 2010, 11:13 PM
Bob Armstrong CFC Governor

Tournament Bidding Conflict of Interest ( and Generally )

A raging debate has been going on on CMA ChessTalk whether there were conflicts of interest in the 2011 CYCC and 2011 CO Bids voting. I have no interest in going backwards. I am satisfied with Bob G's announcement that the Executive, Richmond Hill and Toronto, all agreed on the final result. This is now ended.

But we may have an issue here that we need to look at for future. Some good arguments have been raised there and it might be good for governors to go have a look - its under " CYCC 2011 voting result ".

So far the Handbook section on conflict of interest only applies to officers - Bylaw 2 , section 15.

15. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Whenever a proposal is being considered which puts any CFC officer in a potential conflict of interest he shall declare the conflict and abstain from discussion, voting or other involvement in the matter.

I would note, only as one example of the current conflict controversy, that Daxin ( Anna ) Jin is an officer, though a non-executive officer, Women's Coordinator. She was chair of the Richmond Hill organizing committee, and voted. Was this acceptable? This is one example of the problem, and there may be more. I personally have great difficulty seeing conflict of interest applicable to tournament bid situations, unless they involve pecuniary benefit to the officer in question. But CFC member Peter McKillop has argued that conflict of interest today is broader than just pecuniary benefit, and involves objectivity of decision-making:

From businessdictionary.com:

conflict of interest

Definitions (2)

1. Situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of the possibility of a clash between the person's self-interest and professional-interest or public-interest.

2. Situation where a party's responsibility to a second-party limits its ability to discharge its responsibility to a third-party.


Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/de...#ixzz16WVy7n00


He has asked if the CFC understands how a conflict of interest can exist without there necessarily being any money involved? He has shown that the definition accepted today may be broader than just financial interest.

Is there a reason that this broader definition should not apply to CFC bid situations?

Also, the discussion there expanded beyond officers to target any governor who had a conflict of interest ( though there is no Handbook section on this ).

I think the matter up for consideration is not only whether there may be in future conflicts under existing legislation, but also whether the word " officer " should be amended to read " governor ", to expand its scope.

So there are a number of questions to be answered:

1. Does conflict of interest go beyond just pecuniary or equivalent benefit?
2. If so, should it apply to CFC Bid situations, to officers, under s. 15?
3. Should the conflict of interest be expanded to apply to ordinary governors, as well as officers, since they often vote on bids?

What are governors' answers to these 3 questions ( and are there more outstanding questions? )?

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

CFC Governors Continue to Deal with Conflict of Interest Issue

I would like to provide some update on the conflict of interest issue, first raised re CFC on this board regarding the 2011 CYCC Bids process. There was here, substantial input on the issue, to the CFC. The post I made ( see post above ) on the confidential CFC Governors' Discussion Board concerning " Conflict of Interest " has had some interesting debate by the Governors, including some of the Executive. I recently made a summarizing post of the debate and the position reached - unfortunately, the proceedings of the governors on the Board are confidential, so I think I probably cannot re-post here my summarizing post.

I can advise though that as a result of the debate, I have now supported a recommendation of one of the governors that the CFC President, Bob Gillanders, now refer this whole conflict of interest issue re tournament bids, and generally, to the CFC Ethics Committee. They would investigate, and produce recommendations for any changes.

We are currently awaiting Bob G's response, and confirmation he is referring the matter to the Ethics Committee. I will advise of his response, if he does not post on it here himself.

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Conflict of Interest Issue - Goes to CFC Ethics Committee

CFC President, Bob Gillanders, has decided to refer the issue of tournament bids conflict of interest, and generally, to the CFC Ethics Committee for recommendation:

Dec. 5 - " After due consideration, I have decided to accept Bob A.'s recommendation and will refer the matter to the Ethics Committee. "

I would only note that the suggestion for the referral first came from PEI Governor, and Treasurer, Fred McKim - I simply supported his suggestion, and brought it forward to Bob G.

I would note that re the 2011 CYCC and 2011 CO bids, there ended up being a unanimous agreement between CFC Executive, Richmond Hill Bid Team and Toronto Bid Team, as to the acceptance of bids. As such, the Ethics Committee will not be going behind the agreement to look for conflicts of interest on the part of any officers. The committee is to direct future activity in the right direction, which may involve observations concerning the 2011 Bids. ( edited addition - 10/12/06 )

So this matter, first raised by a CFC member on this board, continues to be dealt with by the governors.

Bob A

[Peter McKillop]

Re: Conflict of Interest Issue - Goes to CFC Ethics Committee

Thank you, Bob, Bob and Fred.

[Fred McKim]

Re: CYCC 2011 voting result

We've had quite a few comments on ChessTalk about this issue, perhaps a CFC member or two, here, might be interested in taking a job on the Ethics Committee.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: CYCC 2011 voting result

We've had quite a few comments on ChessTalk about this issue, perhaps a CFC member or two, here, might be interested in taking a job on the Ethics Committee.

What happened to the ethics committee which is listed on the CFC main site?

[Mark S. Dutton]

Too Many Hats to Wear and so little time -- Re: Vote or No Vote for the Chair?

No, I wouldn't. And do you think that there is any group of active governors who would not have some history of association with any plausible group of bidders? Our community is not that big nor is there any impropriety in voting for your own bid or those who you know well.

Exactly right Roger.

There is some HUGE mis-conception that we have hundreds of willing volunteers to handle the 100s of tasks required at the CFC.

Many of us in the chess community wear many different hats. To start with we are all chess players who love the game of chess. We are tournament directors, organizers and governors (usually by acclamation).

We serve our local chess clubs, our city's chess league, our provincial chess association, our federal chess federation and participate at the World level (FIDE) in different capacities.

We need to answer the telephone, read emails, handle posts, prepare bids, attend frequent meetings, etc.

In this case, there is no need for an Ethics Committee (which is defunct anyway). Good suggestion to have some players or other governors (without portfolios) to step up! :)

[Jean Hébert]

Re : Conflict of Interest Issue - Goes to CFC Ethics Committee

CFC President, Bob Gillanders, has decided to refer the issue of tournament bids conflict of interest, and generally, to the CFC Ethics Committee for recommendation

According to another source down this thread the Ethics Committee is "defunct". Surely this sounds like more juicy food for K. Spraggett...