AAA Auto Club of Southern California Wants to End Member Voting in Elections

by Rogg McFadden

LOS ANGELES -- August 15, 2003 -- The Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) is now proposing to abolish members' right to elect club officers, and to henceforth appoint all officers on the governing board.

After 102 years of allowing for democratically-elected leaders in the Auto Club, present management is proposing an amendment to the club's bylaws to eliminate direct member participation because there have been three consecutive years of "contested elections" in which uppity members have challenged the group of executives who appoint one another each year.

Auto Club President Thomas V. McKernan, Jr. wrote a letter to members in August 2003 explaining how the elimination of all democratic privileges of club membership will save money to provide unspecified "member products and services." The Auto Club has spent a total of $9 million to conduct the contested elections in the last three years.

Each year, the 12-member Board of Directors of the Auto Club of Southern California has a five-member committee of board members nominate four people to serve three-year terms. The Club's constitution, however, has a provision whereby a AAA member who gathers a certain number of petition signatures can be placed on the ballot to become an officer in the Club, creating a "contested election."

This provision was little used as the Auto Club had only one contested election in 1971, before the string of challenges in 2001, 2002, and 2003. As one might assume, the board has had a tendency to re-appoint itself every three years. This system has allowed a select group to maintain control over this powerful organization financed by millions of dollars in member dues and fees. But the opposition appears to be growing stronger against encrusted AAA elites who have run the money machine unquestioned.

It has been concluded, on account of increasingly determined opposition from grassroots membership, that only by eliminating a fundamental privilege of the club, the annual membership vote, can the Board maintain its grasp on power. The "democratic loophole" in the constitution must be abolished.

"This is the ultimate insider carjacking," said Carl Olsen, who ran for the board in 2001. "It's kind of like Gray Davis saying we don't need an election -- they cost too much."

Carl Olsen was the first to exploit the "democratic loophole" and gather petition signatures to challenge the incestuous nominating process among the rotating directors in 2001. After this initial face-off, another AAA member, Richard D. Ackerman, took in over 50,000 member votes as the sole independent challenger to earn a spot on the ballot by petition the following year.

The membership rebellion erupted even more in 2003 when a full slate of four renegade candidates, including Mr. Ackerman again, each received over 40,000 votes, while the four establishment Board-supported candidates pulled in over 560,000 votes a piece. Thomas K. Bourke, who picked up the most votes among the non-Board appointed candidates, defied the club's executive director to reveal his annual salary. He also pushed for the $1.8 billion surplus in the Auto Club's insurance branch to be diverted to lower rates for members.

Club leadership would have saved $9 million had they not been forced to carry on with the annual charade of member control over the Auto Club these last three years. But this $9 million amount is peanuts in relation to the entire budget that the club gathers each year.

AAA Southern California is not simply a 1-800 number and free towing; it's not all about hotel discounts and maps free of charge. AAA also is an active political machine that spends millions each year to finance political campaigns for state and federal politicians. These funds that line politicians' campaign warchests originate with the membership who pay yearly fees and dues to the Auto Club. But it is the Board which decides which state politicians the organization will favor and pump with dollars for the passage of laws that are said to be "favorable to motorists."

By saving this $3 million a year in inconvenient "contested elections," members will be forfeiting the billions in fees and dues to a self-perpetuating Board of Directors, unaccountable to the very men and women who are the lifeblood to the bureaucrats who have had enough of these yearly elections.

"There has to be some sort of safety valve for abuses, and I'm concerned that what they are doing here will transform the Auto Club from something owned by five million members to something owned by Tom McKernan and 11 other board members," Bourke said.

The Auto Club's Board of Directors is now testing the waters to see if members will vote to never vote again. Ballots soliciting approval for the bylaw change were mailed out to members on August 5 and are due by October 31, 2003.

* * * * *

Board of Directors Final Election Results -- 2003

An election for four positions on the Board of Directors of the Automobile Club of Southern California was held on April 14, 2003.

The final vote count:

Nominating Committee Candidates:
Jack H. Brown                        562,097
Susan Corrales-Diaz              562,817
Antonia Hernandez               561,754
Ray Martin                              563,160

Candidates by Petition:
Richard D. Ackerman               44,059
Thomas K. Bourke                    49,122
John Chevedden                       42,555
Herlinda Barajas McIlvain       42,367

Board of Directors Final Election Results -- 2002

The election was held April 8, 2002 in Santa Barbara.

The final vote count:

Nominating Committee Candidates:
Byron E. Allumbaugh 569,648
Janet T. Davidson 570,161
Thomas V. McKernan Jr. 570,321
Willis B. Wood Jr. 569,560

Candidate by Petition:
Richard D. Ackerman 54,143

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Reader Comments

From: A. S. Golbert (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003

Viva Tom Bourke and the insurgents who tried valiantly to stop the hijacking of the AAA. The usurpation plans of the ruling elite now surpasses all arrogance; it is nigh onto criminal. Where are the courts when we need them?

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