Candidates for the Board of Directors
This page presents candidates who filed Declarations of Candidacy and statements by April 2, 2010. There is now ONE declared “write in” candidate in this election, as of 4/29/10. Please note that Candidates may or may not have added to these statement on the DavisWiki page about this election.
Voters will be selecting four candidates for Director. The top three vote-getters in the election will be seated to fill three-year terms as Directors, the fourth will fill a one-year term (created by resignation of a Director) while the fifth and sixth will be seated as first and second Alternate Directors. Alternates serve for one year and vote at Board meetings when a Director is absent. Alternates are appointed to fill out a term if a Director resigns or is incapable of serving. Please view the 2010 Voter's Pamphlet for complete voting information.
Candidates are presented on this page in the order in which they are presented on the Ballot: in an order determined by random drawing. Preliminary results (as of 6/1) are posted here:
Kevin Wolf - 659 votes, elected 1st Alternate
Michael Pach - 170 votes
Rebecca Hager - 661 votes, elected to one-year term as Director
Stephen Reynolds - 777 votes, elected to three-year term as Director
Teddy Consolacion - 748 votes, elected to three-year term as Director
Dina Biscotti - 788 votes, elected to three-year term as Director
Franklin D. Fox - 270 votes, elected 2nd Alternate
530-758-4211
The Davis Food Co-op does a great deal of good for its membership and our community. It can do more and I would like to continue to help that happen.
After serving for six years as a board member in the 1980s, I was elected as an alternate last year and the year before. During these two years, I became a strong supporter of Policy Governance, the method by which the board governs and directs the Co-op. One of the main goals I would continue to advance if elected is to bring to the board a more systematic understanding of the members’ opinions on what the Co-op should be doing with its resources.
This last year I have been helping lead the effort to have the board prioritize its Ends and get member input into what those priorities should be. The board should better understand member preferences for what specific goals and objectives the Co-op should try to accomplish each year. In Policy Governance, a board only votes up or down on management’s annual “interpretation” of the board’s End Statements and the “metrics” management will use to determine if it has been successful in advancing the Ends. The board presently only has its own insights and little understanding of what the members might think of those interpretation and metrics. If elected I will advance the use of annual surveys and other methods to better guide the board on these, the most important decisions the board makes.
Member loyalty and the percentage of shopping dollars that members spend at our store are affected by what the Co-op does with its resources. Should we do all we can to increase annual patronage refunds or is it more important to reduce our carbon footprint, or provide better customer service, or sell more local and organic food or something else? Increasing member loyalty increases sales, which allows us to improve wages and benefits for our staff and advances all the good we want to accomplish. I ask for your vote and, if elected will do my best for our Co-op.
It is said that the arc of history bends toward justice, but apparently this sentiment is not shared by the current Co-op Board of Directors. Recently, the Co-op’s board voted unanimously to deny Co-op members the opportunity to be heard on the issue of Palestinian human rights in Israel, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the besieged Gaza Strip. The unanimous Board decision, to exclude a proposal to boycott Israeli products from Co-op shelves until Palestinian human rights are respected by the Israeli government, was reached despite diligent adherence to Co-op requirements governing placement of initiatives on shareholder ballots. Further, the rejection was prompted by escalating threats and intimidation from a vocal minority, hardly representative of the Co-op community at large.
Regardless of my position on the rejected controversial ballot proposal, I do not condone tactics that deceitfully lead members into thinking that, if they follow the Co-op’s bylaws and policies, their concerns will be presented to shareholders for their consideration. Nor do I condone tactics that deny shareholders the opportunity to voice their preference, either to accept or oppose a validly presented measure. Such tactics violate the Co-op’s democratic principles.
I value the Davis Co-op as much as anyone in the community. I am grateful that there is a place where health-conscious individuals can go for reliable, organic, locally produced, nutritious products. But I think the Co-op can do better by following its own governing principles, rather than yielding to intimidation. And, I think the Co-op can do better by recognizing that it has a powerful role not only in the community’s nutritional health, but in how the community responds to situations of inequality and injustice.
I would appreciate your vote, and once elected, I will work tirelessly to uphold the Co-op’s commitment to its members’ health and overall well-being. Supporting this commitment is my thirty-plus years of experience in business, and leadership in professional organizations. I will serve the Co-op’s democracy with integrity, pride and honor.
I’ve watched the Co-op grow from an alleyway storefront into a truly excellent resource for our community. More than a grocery store, it represents the values of the community in which we live. I believe in the values and ideals supported by the Co-op. I also understand that, as with any business, ideals are not enough to keep it going. In order to keep our commitment to sustainable living and continue to support the Co-op’s commitment to community outreach and education, it must be managed as a business. We must keep the Co-op relevant and competitive in addition to keeping it environmentally and socially responsible.
As in my career, I take an integrative approach to management. Every detail must be considered and balanced in order to maintain the fully functioning whole. Environmental protection, social and financial responsibility; so many controversial issues affect us today, it’s more important than ever to take the time to fully understand each before taking a stand. I believe the Co-op can make an enormous difference in the way this community lives, and that it is the duty of the Board to set an example for the people who look to the Co-op for information, advice and ideas on how to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.
My background is in environmental compliance; I have worked with industry for the past 10 years to ensure that the companies we rely on in California are able to operate in the most environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. I have worked with both the Air Resources Board and CalEPA on the development of greenhouse gas and diesel regulations, as well as with the State Water Board on the new storm water regulations. I am on industry task forces for air quality and storm water and am currently serving on the Board of my homeowner’s association. Working with government, industry and environmental groups has given me a greater understanding of how people can work together, regardless of differences, and actually make change for the better. I would love the opportunity to use that experience to help keep my favorite store going strong for years to come.
I have served three years on the Davis Food Coop Board of Directors including the past year as President. The Coop faces special challenges today including a difficult economy, new competition and the desire of a small number of members to politicize the Coop. With these challenges I believe that Board continuity is especially important at this time.
There are members who would have the Coop boycott products from Israel. For a number of reasons the elected Board of Directors unanimously determined that the proposed boycott initiative was improper under our bylaws. I believe that it is very important that the Coop remain true to the 1st Cooperative Principal which requires Coops to be open to all without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination. The proposed boycott violates this principal and would alienate many long time members. I will continue my work to preserve the Coop as a place open and welcoming to all, even those I may disagree with.
Professionally I am a bankruptcy attorney with an office in downtown Davis. I am a graduate of UC Davis School of Law. I have lived in Davis for sixteen years. My work as an attorney with a wide variety of small and medium size businesses (including my own) helps me as a Director. The consumer side of my practice makes me very aware of the challenges facing families in these tough economic times. I am especially proud of the ongoing work by the Coop staff to educate shoppers about the low cost/high value alternatives available at the Coop. The Coop continues to offer the best food values in town.
I believe that the Coop serves the Davis community best when it provides as many choices as possible. I trust that our members and shoppers are smart enough to make their own choices. I believe that boycotts and the proposed boycott of Israel in particular are dangerous to the Coop and that a healthy Coop needs to be a welcoming place to all. We have a great institution in the Davis Food Coop. Please help me keep it strong..
Hello fellow Co-op members!
My name is Teddy Consolacion, and I want to continue representing you on the Davis Food Co-op Board of Directors. For the past year as an alternate director, I have learned a lot about Policy Governance and the Bylaws and Boundary Policies of the DFC. As a member on the Ends-Linkage Task Force, I have worked on building the connections between members and our Ends, which shape the direction of our co-op. I want to continue to offer my knowledge and experience gained in this past year to serve again as your director.
Most of my life I have been involved with co-ops. At the age of 9, my family moved to St. Francis Co-operative Apartments in San Francisco where my family continues to live today. I have been a shopper/member at the DFC Co-op ever since I moved from San Francisco to Davis in 1999. I have appreciated the Co-op’s inclusiveness of diverse food choices as well as the Co-op’s educational classes and literature.
I value the Co-op’s cornerstone role in a healthful Davis community, and I am committed to furthering its success. To me, a successful DFC is one that maintains its competitiveness against the chain stores while recognizing the emerging needs of its membership in times of furloughs and layoffs.
I am an advocate for all people to access healthy and nutritious food. As a research scientist for a CA Department of Public Health, I value strengthening diverse communities through collaboration and cooperation as well as educating communities on health issues. I want to offer you my skills as a researcher, a lifelong participant in co-operative models, and as a past member of the board of directors.
Thank you for voting.
I am running for the Davis Food Co-op Board of Directors because I would like to give back to an organization which adds so much to our community. I have been a member of the Davis Food Co-op for almost ten years. I am particularly proud of the ways in which our Co-op prominently displays locally-produced products so that we can make choices to support our local foodshed. I am also very pleased with the Co-op’s excellent worker safety record and am grateful to the dedicated workers who work daily to make our store what it is. Some of my volunteer activities include co-teaching a local foods cooking class through the U.C. Davis Experimental College with members of the U.C. Davis Students for Sustainable Agriculture and serving as a mentor through the U.C. Davis Guardian Scholars Program and the U.C. Berkeley Labor Summer Program. I love taking cooking classes at the Co-op, participating in community events like the Co-op Souper Bowl, and reading the Q&A Suggestion Box section of the Co-op newsletter.
This year I will complete my Ph.D. in Sociology at U.C. Davis. My doctoral research is focused on organizations and I teach about cooperative organizations in undergraduate Sociology courses at U.C. Davis. My research interests include the ordering of our food system and I have presented some of my research at the joint meetings of the Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society. Prior to attending graduate school I gained financial management and budgeting skills working in administrative positions at the U.C. San Diego School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine. I have also worked in food service at four restaurants. As a member of the Co-op Board of Directors I would work collaboratively with the other members of the board to responsibly serve our membership as guided by the co-operative principles. Thank you for your support.
(530) 753-8584 or (530) 400-8478
Dear Fellow Davis Food Co-op Members,
Please cast your vote for me as a write-in candidate for Board member on your Davis Food Co-op ballot. I, Frank Fox, and my wife, Moreen Libet, have been members of the DFC since 1983. The Co-op has always been our first choice for shopping since we arrived in Davis. We were members of the Berkeley Co-op in the 70's. We sadly witnessed its demise due to political divisiveness. The Co-op in Berkeley spread itself thin and lost sight of the real reason for its existence -- providing high quality, wholesome food in a cooperative, non-profit environment. That is my vision and my agenda -- let's keep the Co-op about good healthy products, and value our access to the bounties our region offers us in seasonal produce, with fair-trade options, responding to shopping questions and needs. I love bagging my own groceries and buying from the bulk sections, meeting and greeting neighbors old and new, and even dancing and singing along with the great music. I love how students in our community want to work here. I am in favor of providing people with opportunities to work in our Co-op, with decent benefits and a positive work experience. We all believe in democracy and support human rights, and we all have our own ideas on how to solve the world's conflicts and ease suffering. I want the Co-op to remain our non-profit, cooperative grocery store, and not lose it because of disagreements about world politics. I will work hard to keep the Co-op about good, healthy, nutritious, fair-trade, fair work, fair prices, and keeping our community healthy and informed about health, nutrition, taste, and the politics of food. I will also bring to the Board my experience as an educational administrator, program evaluator, researcher, teacher, arts commissioner, and Co-op superworker. Please join me in helping us protect the reasons we belong to the Co-op.
Respectfully,
Franklin Fox
Davis, CA