UNA CONVENTION COUNTDOWN: Here we go again... (01/27/02)

UNA CONVENTION COUNTDOWN

Here we go again...

by Taras Szmagala Jr.

Almost four years ago, Bohdan Vitvitsky wrote a letter to the editor of The Ukrainian Weekly regarding the then-upcoming convention of the Ukrainian National Association. He expressed concern over the fact that no one had publicly declared his or her candidacy for any of the key UNA full-time executive positions. He noted that discussions regarding UNA candidacies were held privately, giving the impression that the leadership selection process was guided by "insiders." Most importantly, he suggested that this method of choosing leaders was not good for the organization or the community. His points are as applicable and correct today as they were in 1998.

Those who remember the last UNA Convention can verify that the election process was a fiasco. Indeed, we did not even know who was running to lead our organization until ballots were already being cast. No one wanted to tip their hand, and no one would have - until angry delegates demanded to know who was running.

So it is today. We are five months away from perhaps the most important convention in UNA history, and the insiders are playing the same games. With few exceptions, no one has publicly declared whether they are, or are not, running for office. If you ask, they will tell you that they haven't made up their minds. But you and I both know that's just not true - at least with regard to the full time executive positions. No one seriously decides (or at least should decide) whether or not to make a career switch at a convention. Whether or not to seek an executive job is serious business - both for the candidate and the community.

As you know, some General Assembly members wanted to change this system. By proposing a comprehensive overhaul of our leadership selection process, these reformers hoped to replace insider politics with a professional board entrusted with the task of identifying and hiring qualified professional leadership for the UNA. Unfortunately, this proposal was rejected, under the argument that we just need better leadership, not a new system.

Perhaps. In that case, however, who will the new leaders be? Opponents of the reforms never said, and they keep their silence today. This is particularly unfortunate, because true leadership rests not in opposing (which, as we know, is quite easy), but in proposing. I would suggest, then, that those individuals who took the lead in defeating our governance reforms have a special responsibility to identify the new leaders who will guide our organization into the future. The community awaits their response.

In the meantime, I resubmit, verbatim, invitation Dr. Vitvitsky issued in these pages in March 1998: "I therefore invite and urge any and all of the persons who may in fact be candidates for the principal offices of the UNA, but in particular the persons who may be candidates for the office of president, to: (i) identify themselves, (ii) state their qualifications for that position, and in particular their managerial qualifications, (iii) set forth their analyses of the UNA's present situation, and (iv) articulate what their visions and plans are both for the UNA's immediate and long-term future."

The UNA "powers that be" ignored this invitation in 1998, and I suspect they'll ignore this one as well. Personally, I have decided not to seek any UNA position at the convention in May. But for those of you running for election - and you know who you are - prove me wrong and speak up!

Taras Szmagala Jr. has been an advisor of the Ukrainian National Association since 1994. He serves also as chairman of the UNA By-Laws Committee.

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