Simplified Campaign Guidelines Emhasize Dignity, Courtesy

By Sheldon I. Miller, M.D.
Chair, APA Elections Committee

In June APA’s Board of Trustees voted to approve minor revisions in the campaign guidelines as recommended by the APA Elections Committee. With the announcement of the Nominating Committee’s selection of candidates for the 1998 election at the September Board meeting (see page 1), the campaign season is officially under way, and members, particularly those wishing to support a candidate, will want to be familiar with the campaign guidelines.

The APA Elections Committee is charged with establishing procedures, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, for equitable voting of the membership. These procedures are documented in the campaign guidelines section of the Operations Manual.

Guidelines prescribing members’ election-related activities were established by the Board in the early 1970’s when APA began having contested elections. Restrictions on campaigning were initially adopted as an attempt to address at least four major concerns: (1) to guard against massive campaign efforts "buying" an election win, particularly if those efforts were financed by resources from outside the membership; (2) the revulsion against campaign committees, war chests, and unwelcome bids for public support; (3) the growing distress of the membership at being deluged with campaign materials; and (4) a feeling held by an unknown proportion of the membership that large-scale campaigning was unseemly and inconsistent with their conception of APA’s professional image.

There are three sections to the guidelines: guidelines for the candidates and supporters; guidelines for those holding appointed or elected positions in APA/Area Councils/district branches; and guidelines for the use of electronic media.

These simplified guidelines were first approved by the Board in 1996 as one part of a two-part plan to simplify the guidelines and shorten the election schedule. The guidelines were implemented in the 1997 election, with fewer violations resulting. The shorter schedule goes into effect with the 1998 election. The changes grew out of concern that the time frame of the election, coupled with the complexity of the guidelines, made campaigning difficult to control.

The intent of the guidelines is "to encourage fair and open campaigning by APA members on a level playing field; foster opportunities for candidates to educate their colleagues about the issues and about their experiences and views; keep costs down; and maintain dignified and courteous conduct appropriate to the image of a profession."

This admonition to adhere to a professional code of conduct replaces the "golden rule" of past guidelines. Challenges to candidates’ records are permitted, but not to their character or institution.

Limits on the number of letters that each person may write have been retained because the committee believes that 400 letters (or 100 for Area office) is a manageable number for any member wishing to support a candidate. A change approved by the Board in June clarifies that there are no limits on the number of campaign messages sent by e-mail (see A.2 below). The restrictions on the use of individual, institutional, or organizational homepages and electronic bulletin boards continue (C.2 and C.3 below).

APA’s Web site will once again contain information about candidates, with "hot links" to individual candidates’ homepages.

The Elections Committee recognizes that there have been problems (and always will be) in implementing the guidelines and in creating guidelines that are inherently equitable, given the diversity of APA’s membership and candidates. Generally, however, candidates have been satisfied with the guidelines, and members and candidates alike feel that the guidelines have achieved the objectives for which they were designed.

Should a serious violation of the guidelines occur, the Elections Committee may invoke the Elections Oversight Board, a group empowered by the Board of Trustees to impose sanctions when egregious violations occur.

The Elections Committee encourages members to get involved in the election process, to support the candidates of their choice, and to encourage others to do so by writing personal letters to friends and colleagues or by personal contact. The committee is open to any suggestions the membership has to improve or change the guidelines.

1. Guidelines for APA Candidates and Supporters
   
   

   The intent of the guidelines is to encourage fair and open campaigning by APA members on a level playing field, foster opportunities for candidates to educate their colleagues about the issues and about their experiences and views, keep costs down, and maintain dignified and courteous conduct appropriate to the image of a profession. Candidates’ records may be challenged but not their character or institution. Running for office should not inhibit or prohibit candidates from conducting their usual professional business. If a professional forum is used for campaigning, the opponents must be given the same opportunity; otherwise, the candidate should decline such an invitation. Campaigning is permitted only after nominations are reported to the Board of Trustees.
   
   

   1. Money/resources: Candidates/supporters must use their own resources for election activities. Fundraising is not permitted, nor is sharing of materials, such as letters, postcards, stamps (with the exception of address labels, or disks of address labels). Candidates/supporters may not organize campaign committees or slates of candidates, and candidates may not enter into agreements to campaign together.
   
   
   
   2. Letters: Election "letters" refers to any written communication with an APA member, including letters, postcards, and faxes. Each candidate/supporter generates his/her own letters with his/her own personal resources. Each candidate/supporter may write up to 400 letters for candidates for national office or 100 for candidates for Area trustee. No APA/Area/district branch resources may be used. Address labels or disks of address labels may be purchased from APA/Area Councils/district branches and may be shared. Third-party endorsements are not allowed. Duplicated material may accompany each letter as a single attachment, but not multiple copies of attachments intended for further distribution. Candidates are encouraged to send a copy of these guidelines to members they ask for support. E-mail used for campaign purposes must comply with the intent of the guidelines with regard to content. There are no limits on the number of campaign messages sent by e-mail.
   
   
   
   3. Debates/appearances: Candidates may attend no more than eight mutually agreed-on debates. If one candidate cannot attend, the debate must be canceled. Grand rounds, lectures, and other kinds of professional appearances should be limited to no more than eight during the campaign period.
   
   
   
   4. APA members in other organizations: All APA members are expected to abide by the APA election guidelines in APA elections, including in their capacity as officers and members of other organizations. APA requests that other organizations adhere to the intent of the campaign guidelines and provide fair and equitable coverage of opposing candidates.
   
   
   
   5. Compliance: Each candidate receives a copy of these guidelines and a statement to sign, certifying that he/she has read the guidelines, promises to abide by them, will immediately report any deviations of which he/she becomes aware, and will notify and try to correct any supporter upon learning of an actual or potential deviation. The Elections Committee investigates any potential violation of which it becomes aware and reports violations it deems egregious to the Elections Oversight Board. The procedures used by the Elections Committee and the Elections Oversight Board to investigate and report campaign violations are in Chapter 2 of the Operations Manual and will be sent to candidates with these campaign guidelines.
   
   
   
   
2. Guidelines for Those Holding Appointed or Elected Positions in APA/Area Councils/District Branches



1. Money/resources: APA/Area/district branch funds or services cannot be used to endorse, support, or promote any candidate; however, district branch or Area funds may be used to support the expenses of candidates invited to the branch/Area meeting for election purposes (see #3 below). APA/Area/district branch or APA organizational stationery cannot be used. Candidates/supporters who hold appointed or elected APA/Area/district branch positions may refer to their titles in the body of the letter, but if they choose to sign the letter, they may not do so over their APA organizational title.



2. Newsletters: District branch or Area newsletters may announce as news items of up to 150 words per candidate the candidacy for national office or Area trust-ee of member(s) of that district branch/Area, with pictures. Edi-torial endorsement of candidates is pro-hibited, as are letters to the editor in support of or opposition to candidates. Newsletters may give coverage to candi-dates’ views only if they give equal opportun-ity to opposing candidates. Newsletters cannot be distributed beyond the usual newsletter distribution.



3. Meetings: Candidates invited to attend district branch meetings to campaign may do so only if their opponents are invited to the same meeting. Candidates invited to make scientific presentations at district branch meetings may not discuss election issues unless their opponents have an equal opportunity to do so.




3. Guidelines for Use of Electronic Media




Candidates and their supporters using electronic media for campaign purposes are expected to comply with the guidelines set forth in Section A and Section C.



1. APA’s Web site: APA will include information on all candidates (the photos, biographies, and statements printed in Psychiatric News) and on the election itself (campaign guidelines, ballot mailing and return dates, etc.) on its Web site in the members-only section. This election information can be accessed through a special icon and will be cross-referenced with Special Events or other pertinent sections of the Web site. A confidential mechanism for members to report feedback, concerns, or complaints about possible election violations to and only to the staff liaison to the Elections Committee will be included.



2. Candidates’ homepages: APA will provide links from its Web site to the individual homepages of the candidates. Each candidate is responsible for setting up and financing his/her own homepage. There will be a disclaimer on APA’s Web site stating that candidates’ homepages are their own creation and responsibility, and that APA takes no responsibility for information posted on them. APA reserves the right to cut the link between its Web site and a candidate’s homepage if a candidate violates the campaign guidelines. No other individual, institutional, or organizational homepages will be used for campaigning.



3. Electronic Bulletin Boards: Individual, institutional, and organizational electronic bulletin boards to which candidates, supporters, and members already have access may not be used for campaign purposes.