Wiregrass Electric Cooperative (WEC) is committed to open and democratic elections for its Board of Trustees. The election procedure for Trustees allows Board candidates to be nominated by a petition of 15 members who reside in their district.
Generally, voting may be done by mail with information being sent at the end of September — or at any time after registering at the Annual Meeting by qualified members in Hartford. Because voting is available to all members by mail, no voting will take place at district offices. Elections will be held by electronic voting machine when there is more than one candidate for office. WEC’s attorney Edward Price and an independent Balloting Committee of Cooperative members oversee the election process.
Three members of the board of trustees are elected each year. The district rotation is listed below:
- 2023 — Districts 3, 6, and 9
- 2024 — Districts 2, 5, and 8
- 2025 — Districts 1, 4, and 7
Eligible members interested in running for a position on the Board must fill out and submit a petition signed by at least 15 members residing in their district. Petitions to run for Trustee are available from the CEO’s office at the Headquarters in Hartford. The deadline for petitions is 90 days prior to Annual Meeting.
The requirements to serve on the Board are listed in Article IV, Trustees, of our By-Laws, and candidates will be furnished a map showing Director districts. In compliance with the Bylaws, completed and signed petitions must be mailed or delivered to the CEO 90 days prior to Annual Meeting for the candidate to be placed on the ballot for the current year’s elections.
Trustee Qualifications
- Must be a member and bona fide resident in the area served by the Cooperative.
- Must be a resident of the district from which he is elected to represent.
- Cannot be in any way employed by or financially interested in a competing enterprise or a business selling electric energy or supplies to the Cooperative, or a business primarily engaged in selling electrical or plumbing appliances, fixtures, or supplies to the members of the Cooperative.
- Cannot be the incumbent of an elective public office in connection with which a salary or compensation in excess of one hundred dollars per annum is paid.
- Cannot be an employee of the Cooperative nor may he or she become an employee of the Cooperative at any time within two years after he or she leaves office.
- Cannot have a close relative employed by the Cooperative or serving on the Board of Trustees at the time of qualification. Close relatives shall mean father, mother, brother, sister or child, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and to include step-children. However, this provision shall not apply to any person presently serving on the Board of Trustees.
- Cannot be an employee of the Cooperative or have been an employee of the Cooperative within the preceding five years prior to the time of qualifications.
- Cannot have been convicted of a felony offense.