Editor’s Note: The Source has removed two references to motions made by members Barbara La Ronde and Cleopatra Peter, as they were incorrect; one motion, regarding the removal of member Lawrence Boschulte as head of the Governance Committee, was instead made by member Atanya Springette. 

Fourteen elected members of the Board of Elections took part in a lively online meeting Thursday. It was the first quarterly meeting led by returning board Chair Raymond Williams.

Together the board worked their way through a number of procedural votes in a win-some-lose-some session lasting three hours. New members Cleopatra Peter and Barbara LaRonde joined veteran board member Harriet Mercer to push the meeting agenda forward.

Williams patiently reminded the members to adhere to protocols needed to conduct an orderly discourse; to speak one at a time and introduce themselves before commenting.

Board Secretary Florine Audain-Hassell kept up with the note taking and the vote taking. Most of the remaining board members spoke up when Hassell called on them to voice a yea or a nay.

In an effort to organize the work of the board for the next two years Williams announced committee assignments. Naming committees and appointing committee chairs was conducted during a meeting of the board’s new executive team in early February.

Making a motion, member Atanya Springette sought to remove Lawrence Boschulte, her husband, as head of the Governance Committee and proposed member Cleopatra Peter as his replacement. Boschulte told the Source after the meeting that it was because he felt Peter could do a better job. However, the idea rankled long-serving board member Lilliana Belardo De O’Neal.

“I think it’s up to the chair and the person assigned to chair a committee,” Belardo said.

The board secretary chimed in. “The meeting was held in February and chairman Boschulte accepted the position,” Hassell said.

Williams went on to announce the other committees and their designated chairs: Hassell to head the Personnel Committee; Kareem Francis in charge of the Education/Townhalls Committee; Shikima Jones-Sprauve as chair of Strategic Planning and Raymond Wiliams to head the Finance Committee.

Williams encouraged committee leaders to hold monthly meetings and bring matters requiring full consensus up for votes at the quarterly meetings. He also encouraged new board members to take advantage of training for their duties with the International Association of Government Officials.

“Based on our budget, we will determine how many members will participate,” Williams said. “I strongly recommend that you look online to see which courses are being offered.”

Discussion over items appearing in the Supervisor of Elections Report led to questions about a pending legal matter and the introduction of a new online voters’ registration portal rolled out in January.

LaRonde, Peter and Mercer also resisted a call from the chairman to adjourn the meeting without allowing members in the public a chance to pose questions and make comments. By then the number of attendees went from 14 to 13, but an evenly split vote with one abstention allowed the meeting to continue.

Mary Moorhead, a member of the public in attendance, questioned whether the steps spelled out to appoint Board of Elections committee members was carried out in full. What was missing, she said, was a vote to approve the choices made by the executive team after the names of those selected were announced.

Williams decided afterward to declare Thursday’s meeting in recess until the call of the chair.

… To be continued.

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that board member Atanya Springette made the motion to remove Lawrence Boschulte as head of the Governance Committee, not Cleopatra Peter and Barbara LaRonde.