![]() Online Protest VACU Board Vote - Join the Watch PartyThe member-owners of Virginia Credit Union will be holding an online protest rally, together with voting rights activists, state legislators, and members of the press, immediately preceding and leading into a watch party for the online VACU annual member meeting.
When: Wed Mar 23 3:30p - 4:30p ET, with VACU's annual meeting starting at 4pm Zoom Link provided below By: S.E.E.D. For All Member-owners of the credit union will be there to vote "Nay" against these candidates, in protest of the VACU board's suppression of challenger candidates from running in the election. A voice vote is required by VACU's bylaws for elections when only a single candidate is nominated for an open office. Ordinarily these actions would take place in a WebEx closed to the public with few members in attendance. To encourage member-owners to attend, and to enable the public to see the need for new state legislation providing credit union election reform and creation of a members' bill of rights, the group of VACU members will be live-streaming the closed meeting and has invited state legislators, voting rights activists, and the press to attend a Zoom watch party. In September 2021 four reform candidates filed the required paperwork to run for board at the March 23rd annual meeting and election. Frank Moseley, Kati Hornung, Richard Walker, and Tori Jones received no response or interview opportunity with the board's nominating committee. (VACU Board Chair Robert Jones chooses each member of the board nominating committee and is also one of the three candidates expected to be re-appointed Wednesday.) In February the VACU board announced its hand-picked slate (3 candidates for 3 board seats) with no challengers. On March 9th, candidate Frank Moseley filed a complaint with the federal regulator, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). In its response, NCUA upheld the importance of democratic member control of credit unions and referred enforcement to the State Corporation Commission Bureau of Financial Institutions. Today, member-owners sent a petition to the VACU board demanding that the board delay tomorrow's election and instead announce a free and fair election later this spring with all candidates able to run. Susan Miller, a retired VCU doctor, said "So disappointed to see that an owner co-operative does not follow democratic principles. I've had my money and mortgages at VACU for 35 years." Another long time member-owner, Elaine Kasten, said, "Kati Hornung is awesome and deserves a chance to be voted onto this board. I want a chance to vote for her!" The group will gather in a Zoom at 3:30p ET, then at 4p, join the VACU annual meeting held by WebEx. The press are invited to attend. Candidates will be available for statements, as will other concerned VACU member-owners. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/ End
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