2021 Board Elections

Which candidate will you be voting for?


  • Total voters
    26
  • Poll closed .

Thetrader15

Cancelled
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Oct 16, 2015
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My initial two cents...

Nick is AFC through and through. Which is exactly why it would be a waste of time appointing him to the board, he offers nothing we lack, want or need. Pass.

Kym's deficiencies are well covered above. Likes the sound of his own voice but hasn't backed up a single thing he promised. Pass.

Donny gives me a bad vibe. One of those older women who views her personal success in a male-dominated world not with any actual understanding of structural barriers but rather through a lens of self-congratulation for not being useless like most other women who would just achieve everything she has if they'd just tried a bit harder. Pass.

Shanti is it for me. Her blurb reads the least desperate / most honest, and she won me over with: "This means better, more direct and honest communication, this means members being consulted and included in decisions, and it means members being heard by the Board and receiving a response."
She's my vote too.
 

Thetrader15

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now a "zero tolerance" on executive incompetence I am all for. The Crouch/Stengle episodes are more likely a result of a f’ed up club leadership than a cause of it. Fix that (which is being done) then the rest follows. After the disastrous last 2 years which has at its core the amatuer level leadership from Fagan, Chapman and others, to put your candidacy hopes on making sure the players don't fu** around, is incredibly short sighted and straight out of the Chapman leadership playbook.
Rod Jameson's comments are the gold medal for "executive incompetence" IMO.
 
You can view his Twitter here


He doesn't seem to respond to supporters with any sort of substance. Certainly does not use Twitter to address genuine questions.

Now I don't know if he received questions on Twitter or not, but I scrolled back to the start of 2020. I would have assumed at least a few people would have reached out to our member representative on Twitter when we went through a record winless streak
Clayton's member representative.
 

arrowman

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 27, 2004
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You can view his Twitter here


He doesn't seem to respond to supporters with any sort of substance. Certainly does not use Twitter to address genuine questions.

Now I don't know if he received questions on Twitter or not, but I scrolled back to the start of 2020. I would have assumed at least a few people would have reached out to our member representative on Twitter when we went through a record winless streak
Any criticism of Kym Ryder aside (I think he promised more than he could practically deliver), I think it's worthwhile to think about what we can expect from the member rep on the board.

Should they advocate for members' interests / concerns / issues on the board? I would expect so, but what issues / opinions should they take to the board, and where do they get them from? BigFooty? Facebook? I don't know that I expect a members' rep to go to a board meeting and say "the members think the club's management sucks and we should clear out the footy ops manager and most/all of the coaching panel", but at the same time I'd expect them to have their ear to the ground, and to think about the impact on members of any given initiative.

Should they be reporting / communicating to members on various club issues? Well.... That's really the club's job, and a board member (in any organisation) is constrained in what they can / are authorised to tell members / shareholders off their own bat. I think the club's media / marketing people would not be happy about any board member (or member of staff) who felt they could just say whatever they like.

I mean they're sort of like a member of parliament for a given electorate, but at the same time not so much. Probably not an easy role to fulfill, in line with the expectations that some members might have.
 
Any criticism of Kym Ryder aside (I think he promised more than he could practically deliver), I think it's worthwhile to think about what we can expect from the member rep on the board.

Should they advocate for members' interests / concerns / issues on the board? I would expect so, but what issues / opinions should they take to the board, and where do they get them from? BigFooty? Facebook? I don't know that I expect a members' rep to go to a board meeting and say "the members think the club's management sucks and we should clear out the footy ops manager and most/all of the coaching panel", but at the same time I'd expect them to have their ear to the ground, and to think about the impact on members of any given initiative.

Should they be reporting / communicating to members on various club issues? Well.... That's really the club's job, and a board member (in any organisation) is constrained in what they can / are authorised to tell members / shareholders off their own bat. I think the club's media / marketing people would not be happy about any board member (or member of staff) who felt they could just say whatever they like.

I mean they're sort of like a member of parliament for a given electorate, but at the same time not so much. Probably not an easy role to fulfill, in line with the expectations that some members might have.

In my opinion the member's representative should be fielding opinions from the broad supporter base, so that would be everything from casual gameday fans to Facebook and BigFooty members. Then collating that to form the overall sentiment of supporters and use that voice at the board level.

I wouldn't expect any direct communication about specific club issues with answers and opinions. That's on the media/PR team to work through. However I would expect that if a member directs a question about the club to the member's representative, that the rep on the board would at least respond with an acknowledgement of some kind. Provided the question is legitimate and respectful of course.

So if a member approaches the representative saying "Hey, I'm not happy about the Brad Crouch deal, what is the club doing about it?" I would at least expect something along the lines of "I understand your frustration with the situation and you aren't alone in sharing that opinion. I'll be voicing this to the board when next appropriate"
 

AFC3000

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 20, 2011
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I've always just thought of it as I'm supposed to vote for the person I'm most aligned with or think will do the best job, they then do that job across all areas.

I've not really thought of it as a members voice (as representing ALL members isn't possible) on the board, is it supposed to be?

The problem is they promise they will and don't do much in the open and we don't really find out much about them other than the "here are my credentials as a banker/lawyer" and the typical pandering to the members stuff about open communication, I guess show us examples of how that will work and let us hold you accountable to that.

I certainly don't need a lawyer/banker popping up on here 2 weeks out from the vote pretending to be one of us.
 
Last edited:
May 24, 2006
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I said a few days ago that I didn't know her - but I have since spoken with someone who has had dealings with her in the past. They said she is a self-promoter and a "player", very good at building her own brand. Possibly not the right motivation for a board member.
Is there any other motivation for a board member? :p
 

Murray2503

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Listened to Donny's interview on SEN. Her stance on zero tolerance seems very unrealistic. Has lost my vote, seems out of touch. I agree that we need zero tolerance on incompetent SLT but we will have no players if we have a zero tolerance on players.

Shanti seems the best candidate.
 

arrowman

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Jul 27, 2004
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Is there any other motivation for a board member? :p
Haha, well yes, I think there is. If someone wants to serve on the board of a charity, for example, you might expect their motivation to be, shall we say, selfless. But of course any position on an AFL club board is a bit of an ego trip (or a chance to join the inner sanctum, go to functions, wine & dine on game day etc). Depends on where you draw the line (or perceive the candidate as drawing the line). I think some candidates would be more in it for the "ego" than others, it's maybe hard to tell unless you've got some insight into the person.
 
Nov 24, 2007
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I have added a poll, because I am Polish.

His family?

Has anyone here spoken to him in the past year?

In his defence, he sent me a nice video wishing me good luck when I went in for surgery. Sadly it was a video of him saying good luck, and not "Curious Redheads Vol 5" or anything like that :)

They're not gonna let a wildcard onto the board.


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To be fair, this place isn't particularly representative of AFC supporters.

I don't know, it has its fair share of idiots

Is there any other motivation for a board member? :p

I remember once working with a board. I was young and still optimistic, and thought I'd be dealing with intellectual giants wisely shepherding a legal entity etc etc.

I still remember being shocked when it dawned on me how dumb they were. They were just in it to say they were on a board. They slapped each other on the back at a job well done, all the while their portfolio the organisation depended upon had lost 40% in the preceding four years. Astonishing.
 

arrowman

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 27, 2004
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I still remember being shocked when it dawned on me how dumb they were. They were just in it to say they were on a board. They slapped each other on the back at a job well done, all the while their portfolio the organisation depended upon had lost 40% in the preceding four years. Astonishing.
That is true. Either "to say they were on a board", or genuinely committed to the cause but just not qualified (that latter applies in particular to some NFP / charity boards). A lot comes down to the chair.
 
Nov 24, 2007
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That is true. Either "to say they were on a board", or genuinely committed to the cause but just not qualified (that latter applies in particular to some NFP / charity boards). A lot comes down to the chair.

Ha ha, it was an NFP, and I have no idea why the chair did it, other than title. When she left, the CEO lined her up for a property report about a place they wanted to buy. It the worst-written report I'd ever seen, with highlights from Google Maps, nonsensical statistics... just terrible.

The CEO gave her $50k for that.

And we bought the property anyway.

And we had to spend $125k fixing all the stuff the chair didn't find in her report.

As a side note, I'd worked in real estate/property development for 15 years by that time. I could have done it for free in an afternoon. When I raised how poor it was with the CEO, it was intimated to me it was about 'well, she worked here a long time'.
 

Vhaluus

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Personally I'm not sure you needed to add anything.

What you said is well known

What I added was a call to not participate and lend false legitimacy to the process.

Given that everyone here is talking about who they're voting for I think it very much needed to be said.
 

Mego Red

The Artist Formerly Known As Kristof
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Kym Ryder looks like he's pretty available on Facebook and Twitter, and I think he is one of the patreon supporters for the Crowject.

I don't think if matters much whether he speaks to the fifty or so nuffys on this board.

Personally, I just want the member's choice boardmember to be the most competent candidate. I wouldn't vote for the guy who most available to Nannas on Facebook.
 
Should they be reporting / communicating to members on various club issues? Well.... That's really the club's job, and a board member (in any organisation) is constrained in what they can / are authorised to tell members / shareholders off their own bat. I think the club's media / marketing people would not be happy about any board member (or member of staff) who felt they could just say whatever they like.

They should be used to it by now. "Go support another club", "temperamental soul", etc.
 
Oct 1, 2003
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Listened to Donny's interview on SEN. Her stance on zero tolerance seems very unrealistic. Has lost my vote, seems out of touch. I agree that we need zero tolerance on incompetent SLT but we will have no players if we have a zero tolerance on players.

Shanti seems the best candidate.
She was on Five AA last night, don't want her anywhere near the club
 

Redline

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Jul 18, 2006
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Sorry if this is elsewhere but of the current board, who is or has been elected by the members?

Olsen
Roo
Hazel
Ellis
Fennell
Jamo
Ryder
Randall
 

Redline

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I have a fair bit to do with two existing board members, nice people but would offer very little in the Board. I have no idea why one of them is even on there. They have no idea about football or what your average supporter would want.

Feels to me we are over represented by lawyers, risk managers and diversity inclusion specialist. Not sure we really need someone on the board whose big claim to fame is they have been mentoring wives and girlfriends.
 
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