By unanimous vote at Commons, the deadline for submission of letters of intent for the Viceregency has been extended to August Commons, August 21. Procedures for the polling process will be discussed at that meeting.
See The Viceregal Succession, 2015 for more details.
Unto the Populace of the Crown Province of Ostgardr:
It is with a heavy heart that we announce that their Excellencies Vicereine Baroness Johanna i Visby and Viceroy Gui avec Cheval will be stepping down within the next few months. As such, a polling of the populace will take place for a new Vicereine and Viceroy. Potential candidates must submit letters of intent to me, the Seneschal by June 19th, 2015. They may be emailed to eilionorasca@aol.com with Letter of Intent in the subject line or hardcopy to Lori Copland, Attn: SCA, 3655 Johnson Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463. Hardcopy letters must be postmarked by the aforementioned date.
Before sending letters of intent, I suggest potential candidates speak to the current Viceroy and/or Vicereine to discuss the duties, time and cost that this office incurs. I do not wish to keep anyone from seeking office, however, for full disclosure; it does take its toll which is why I feel a real in depth conversation should take place by any who chose to do so. While it does offer certain perks, it does also carry with it a special burden to represent the people of Ostgardr at many and varied events.
After the candidates list has been finalized, we will do our best to host an Ostgardr Candidates Forum in each of the Cantons. Of course, these will begin after everyone is home from Pennsic. Following this, a polling ballot will be sent out to all paid up members. Ballots of members 14 and up will be tallied toward the preference. Ballots received by those under 14 will be added to the count as at least 50% of the polled members must respond for the polling to be considered valid. A minimum of 30 days to the maximum of 45 days is given for return of the ballot.
After that, ballots will be tallied by the Branch Polling Deputy, a Regional Seneschal, and the Kingdom Seneschal (or designate). Talliers must not reside in the branch conducting the polling or have any other conflict of interest regarding the polling. Returned ballots may only be viewed by the talliers, the Kingdom Seneschal and/or the Kingdom Seneschal’s designates, and The Crown. The outcome of the polling will be determined by a simple majority of valid returned ballots. If a polling fails to result in a simple majority, the disposition of the polling falls to The Crown.
I truly wish to give my most heartfelt thanks to their Excellencies for their guidance, service and dedication not only to Ostgardr but to the SCA as a whole. They are exemplary examples of that which is the heart of the SCA. A love of the world we chose to create, a place to enjoy others who have that same special love of history, art, glory and chivalry of that era which we call home. They have gone above and beyond and have set a standard that we only hope to reach for.
For Vicereine Johanna and Viceroy Gui, Vivat, Vivat, Vivat!
The next Ostgardr commons meeting will be held on Friday, June 19th, 2015 in Astoria, Queens.
The next Commons meeting is this Friday (January 16th) at office of Congressman Eliot Engel, 3655 Johnson Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463 at 8:00pm.
February Commons will be held on Friday, February 20th – location to be announced.