Editorial: April 4, 2024

The recent elections at the March annual meeting made one wonder, including these pages: Why does one want to be an American Kennel Club delegate?

Just a little background: There are a total of 4,971 clubs, of which only 653 are member clubs. Member clubs have a delegate that represents that club at delegate meetings. Not every member club has delegate, and, sadly, of those 653 member clubs, only 343 delegates attended that meeting — a little more than half the total number of delegates. It is the most important meeting of the year, as it includes the election of new directors for a four-year post. It is the meeting that delegates can and should participate in and vote. The board of directors comes from the delegate body, and this small group of people create the rules, regulations and guidelines we all must adhere to; they have great power over the decisions that affect us all.

At the March meeting, the delegates had a choice of nine fellow delegates running for the four available seats for the Class of 2029. The voting for the election required six ballots to elect the four directors. It was appalling to see that with each subsequent ballot, the number of delegates voting dwindled to a precious few, and the number of votes needed to be elected also dropped to embarrassing numbers.

The first ballot cast by 343 delegates resulted in none of the nine candidates being elected: that included Carl Ashby, Pat Cruz, current chairman of the board Tom Davies, Eduardo Fujiwara, Kenneth Levison, Laurie Maulucci, Robin Stansell, Sylvia Thomas and Harvey Wooding. The second ballot voted by 343 delegates had the same results: No one was elected, plus Pat Cruz withdrew from the election. The third ballot voted by 335 delegates voted in Eduardo Fujiwara; Kenneth Levison withdrew. The fourth ballot was voted on by 307 delegates, electing Robin Stansell and Sylvia Thomas. The fifth ballot voted on by 288 delegates resulted in no one being elected, and Laurie Maulucci and Harvey Wooding withdrew. With the sixth ballot, 249 delegates voted with only two candidates left; Tom Davies was elected as the fourth director. The meeting adjourned at 1:59 p.m. — hardly a full day by any measure.

Is it wrong to think that these 94 delegates could have stayed until the end of the voting instead leaving after lunch was served? They no doubt were present for their Monday committee meetings, where their stipend is secured. It would behoove each member club that had a delegate present to inquire as to participation on that day and if in fact their delegate stayed until the end of the meeting. Surely these delegates know that the annual meeting runs longer than the other delegate meetings, which usually end before noon. The problem at the American Kennel Club is not only board members who want to rescind term limits; the apathy of the delegate body also needs to be addressed. Did one delegate rise and ask the question on everyone’s mind: Why was Dennis Sprung fired in the fashion that he was? We don’t need delinquent delegates.