Troop Election Crisis

[slontwovvy]

We have an interesting situation on our hands.

 

Two weeks ago the troop held elections. A boy was prodded into running by his friends, and (as a joke candidate) won. Later, he revealed that he didn't really want to be SPL, he resigned. Now, no one from among the other candidates is willing to run again. Ideas on how to solve this?

[OldGreyEagle]

First a discussion on how important elections are, and a question tossed to the troop, you guys did this, now how do you think it should be fixed?

[Compass]

I'm always a little mystified by stories like this. As a boy, I always wanted to be elected to SPL, as did others in the troop; we always had lots of qualified candidates.

 

As an adult, the situations I have seen where boys were unwilling to run were:

 

1) the one boy who ran was an Eagle and nearly 18 years of age, and the other boys were eleven or twelve years of age and Tenderfoot rank or below (new troop).

 

2) the adults had taken away the joy of leadership: too many rules, legalistic approach (extreme and sometimes nonsensical application of rules), harsh judgement of performance (boy had to be organized from the get-go with plannner, calendar, etc., and meetings/campouts had to be rigorously planned/scheduled with deviations seen as failure) with considerable risk (might not be signed-off because of 'failure').

 

I am not implying, slontwovvy, that these are your situations; they are merely what I have seen before. As I said earlier, it's somewhat rare in my personal experience.

 

slontwovvy, what is the situation? Why do you think the boys don't want to run?

[k9gold-scout]

Where is the ASPL - Troop Guide - Patrol Leaders (by rank)? Use the chain of command and appoint the next highest leader to take SPL.

[KoreaScouter]

Who got the second-highest number of votes?

 

KS

[ozemu]

Fair enough. I can understand the lack of candidates. Who wants to be the runner up in a bad joke?

 

I agree with OGE. They should fix it but may need a real - 'grow up you lot' talk before they get over the incident.

 

Maybe a previous SPL who did a good job and was respected by the boys could get the right idea across. More of a peer than a grumpy SM.

[slontwovvy]

Ozemu pretty accurately describes the scene. Although everyone gives different reasons, I suspect it is because they did not feel good after finishing runners-up in a joke vote.

 

I have not been able to convince anyone to run as of today. We may have to (gasp) appoint or strongly push an SPL.

[Mike Long]

I'd move the ASPL into the SPL position and have him appoint his new ASPL.

[Rooster7]

I suspect...if you had one or two PLC meetings without an SPL, a number of boys would suddenly become interested again. As SPL, a boy is in a unique position to present his ideas and sell them.... a special privilege that is highly sought by those truly interested in the troop's activities. Perhaps, you could have the ASPL be an interim SPL for a meeting or two (i.e., postpone a second election for a month or two). In fact, I suggest advertising this as your intended plan - with the disclaimer, "unless one or two candidates present themselves within the next week, this will be our plan." This may be all that is needed to get the fire going again. In other words, once the boys realize that they may be losing out on a golden opportunity to gain this position of leadership and authority, they may reconsider (probably sooner than later).

[Quixote]

Very similar thing has occured in our troop. Two boys agreed to run for SPL, the existing ASPL and one of the older PL's. All of the adults and the senior patrol expected the ASPL to get elected, but when the vote was taken, the ASPL didn't win. The look on the new SPL's face was priceless - classic dear in a headlight look. He had wanted to be SPL, but didn't really think he would be elected, but wanted to provide a choice.

 

He is now warming up to the idea and actually will do a decent job (i believe) with a lot of room to grow. He appointed the existing ASPL to be his ASPL and they are approaching it kinda as a joint SPL position. We'll see how it works.

 

Good Luck. My only advice is not to appoint an SPL if it can be avoided - it is an elected position and the boys should take another vote.

[Compass]

My recommendation is to let 'em do without an SPL until the personal discomfort level rises to the point where they want another election. In the mean time, use the ASPL. This reinforces the idea that it's their troop, and its success or failure depends on the boys.

[ASM1]

I tend to agree with OldGreyEagle. Boy leadership, they made the situation they need to figure it out on their own with adult guidance.

 

Yet I am confused by Compass's response. I know my son has been urged countless times to run for SPL and he flatly refuses. It baffles me at election time. Every member of the troop wants my son to run and he refuses. When I ask him why he just says there is too much paperwork to do and it will cut down on his Den Chief time. I guess we get leadership in other ways than running for SPL.

 

ASM1

 

[Compass]

ASM1, I did not say that every boy wanted to be SPL in my old troop, but that there were lots of interested, qualified candidates (including me) when I was a boy. I did not intend to imply that others who were qualified and not interested were non-existent or deficient. But, in reviewing my original post, I can see that my omission of a third category (qualified and not interested) could be troubling.

 

I was addressing slontwovvy's original post and question, in which he said no one was willing to run, which I found odd (that is, until ozemu's post; thank you, ozemu, I wasn't thinking along those lines). I was citing those instances when I saw the same thing (no one willing to run at all), and why I thought it occurred in those situations.

 

Again, I did not refer to all possible reasons why a boy won't run, but instead focused on reasons why all potential candidates would not run (and ozemu helped educate me on more reasons). And, ASM1, thank you too: you helped me realize how my omission might be interpreted in a way not originally intended.(This message has been edited by Compass)

[Mike Long]

Why all the convolutions?

 

An ASPL is an assisstant to the SPL and takes the responsibilities when the SPL is absent. My current SPL was unable to be active for about a month and the ASPL filled in just fine. Just move the ASPL over and let him take charge. I fail to see any reason to re-vote or go without senior leadership. All that does is causes a mess and will toss a troop program into turmoil for at least a month.

[ASM7]

slontwovvy

 

When you say he resigned, did he resign the position or the troop? I hope it wasn't the latter. You said his friends put him up to it, then his friends should support him and take some leadership positions themselves. I don't think he should be allowed to resign. It may take more effort on your part and the other scouters, but he may find he can do a pretty good job. The best way to learn is to do. He won't know until he tries and the experience will be good for him. If it doesn't work out great, remember to give him a pat on the back for trying. He only fails if he doesn't try.

Doug