This year has been full of all kinds of new and exciting steps for AlmaLinux. We topped 500,000 systems calling home to our now 300+ mirrors for updates. We began exploring what AlmaLinux looks like as an untethered enterprise linux operating system, and we’ve seen an outpouring of support from AlmaLinux users around the world. The opportunity to serve as chair of AlmaLinux has been extremely fulfilling, as I serve alongside dedicated board members. Today, I’m pleased to share that we’re expanding our board with the addition of two new seats.
Why Now?
Our bylaws allow us to expand our board every time we sign a new platinum sponsor (which we did earlier this year when CyberTrust Japan joined us), and with all of the changes and shifting in the last four months we certainly believe it’s time to bring in more representatives from our community. We also had one member of the board step down, so this upcoming election will fill three seats.
The AlmaLinux OS Foundation board is governed by a set of Operational Standards and a Code of Ethics.
Nominations and Voting
The members of the AlmaLinux OS Foundation are the ones who nominate candidates and vote on the members of the board. The AlmaLinux board is currently made up of a diverse group of people who help steer the AlmaLinux project, and that is all because the people who care about the future of AlmaLinux take the time to engage. Since our project is still quite new, we are about 50% a “working board,” meaning the people on the board aren’t just advisory but are working consistently in the project itself.
Nominating is easy! If you would like to nominate someone to join the board, then send an email with the party’s name & contact information of the nominee to election2023@almalinux.org. You can find more information about who qualifies to be nominated on the wiki.
If you would like to vote in this year’s election, you will need to be a confirmed member at least two weeks before the election starts. Submit your application to join the foundation at whatever level you feel is appropriate (reach out to me if you wish to become a sponsor), and then keep an eye on your email through September and October. We encourage you to participate in the election because a community-run operating system needs its community involved.
The AlmaLinux OS Foundation Membership Committee will meet for the last time before the election on November 29th, 2023. Anyone who’s interested in voting needs to apply for membership before November 28th, 2023 to have a vote this year!
The Plan
We have outlined the entire plan for this election on our wiki, but here are answers to the questions that I expect to get asked the most:
An election committee will be appointed by the current board, and will be made up of community members and an existing board member.
Any person who has been a member in good standing for at least 3 months by the time the election starts will be eligible to be nominated for a seat on the Board of Directors.
The election will start on December 1st, and will run until at least December 16th. If we don’t reach quorum by December 16th, the election will stay open until quorum is reached.
A big list of questions and answers can be found in the wiki. If you have any questions outside of that, you can reach out directly to the Election Committee!