The officers elected will serve a three-year term. The offices of President, Executive Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, FEA Governance Board, and as per Article IV Section VII of the OESPA By-Laws Vice-Presidents for Custodial, Food Service, Maintenance, Para-Professionals, Secretarial/Clerical, Transportation, Uniform Security, Technology and (2) Transportation Directors (2) Paraprofessional Directors, (1) Clerical Director (1) Food Service Director and (1) Custodial Director shall be subject to election in 2022 as provided for in the Bylaws. The term of office for those officers elected in 2022 will end on June 24, 2025. All delegate positions will be elected to a three-year term.

Officers, Directors and Delegates elected in 2022 will take office effective June 25, 2022.

Those individuals whom choose to run for the office of President, Executive Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer of OESPA shall be members in good standing of OESPA for two (2) years prior to the close of nominations for office. Additional eligibility requirements are defined in Article IV, Section III, A, B, and C of the OESPA Bylaws. Occupational Vice-Presidents and Directors shall be employed in job categories that they represent. Eligibility requirements will be considered by the Elections Committee subsequent to the current election and the committee will make a recommendation to the OESPA Board of Directors concerning potential revision to the existing Bylaw provision.

Upon nomination and certification of eligibility for office, a member shall be considered a candidate for office and shall be provided a list of members, a copy of election policies and established election timelines. Announced candidates shall be provided an opportunity to address the stewards in attendance at a stewards meeting.

Candidates will be given an opportunity to provide a campaign statement and photo. Statements are limited to 150 words due by Monday, March 14, 2022. Statements and photos submitted by this deadline will be placed on the OESPA website exactly as submitted by the candidate. If the statement is greater than 150 words, only the first 150 words will be published.

All printed and/or non-printed campaign materials must bear the written identification of the candidate and will be submitted for review to the OESPA Elections Committee. As a general rule, all campaign materials must carry an identification of their source and sponsorship. For example, signs, banners, brochures, t-shirts and other clothing must contain such identification. In some cases, however, carrying such identification would be impossible or impracticable, e.g., where the item is too small, such as a small piece of candy. In such cases, the items in question must be distributed from a table or booth, or placed in some type of container, which clearly indicates that the campaign is their source of sponsorship.

The use of personal email addresses, personal phone numbers, or home addresses for campaigning purposes shall be considered a campaign violation and shall be investigated as such.

Any candidate and/or supporter is prohibited from using OCPS computers or the OCPS email system to create and/or distribute any campaign material.

Federal law prohibits the use of any union or employer funds to promote the candidacy of any person in a union officer election. This prohibition applies to cash, facilities, equipment, vehicles, office supplies, etc., of OESPA and any other union, and of employers whether or not they employ OESPA members.

Personal contact information of any member will not be released by OESPA.

Elected officers retain their rights as members to participate in the affairs of the organization, including supporting and working on behalf of candidates for office. However, such campaign activities may not involve the expenditure of OESPA funds. Accordingly, officers may not campaign on time that is paid for by OESPA. Nor may they use any OESPA funds, facilities, equipment, personnel working on OESPA time, stationery, newsletters, or any other association or union asset to assist them in campaigning.

Federal law also provides that candidates must be treated equally regarding the opportunity to campaign and that all members may support the candidates of their choice without being subject to penalty, discipline, or reprisal of any kind.

As provided in Article VIII, Section D. of the OESPA Bylaws, any OESPA member in good standing, as of February 6, 2022, will be eligible to vote in this election.

The ballots will be tallied by the Elections Committee on April 7, 2022.

A plurality of the votes cast by eligible voters shall be required to determine those elected. In case of a tie vote, the committee will adhere to Article VIII.D.4. in the OESPA By-laws.

The election results will be posted at the OESPA office and on the OESPA website. Results will also be published in the first issue of the electronic OESPA newsletter subsequent to the election tally.

The election results will be posted at the OESPA office and on the OESPA website. Results will also be published in the first issue of the electronic OESPA newsletter subsequent to the election tally.

Candidates and members with questions about the nomination or election procedures should contact the chairperson of the Elections Committee. Any violation of these rules should be reported promptly to the Elections Committee so that corrective action can be taken, if necessary.