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Nonprofit responds to allegations
from former board members
by
Jo n a th a n Kipp
DOWNTOWN AT 927 SW OAK
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fficials from Pride Northwest re
cently responded to allegations of
unfair election practices by two
former board members, Tamara
Swan and Janna MacAuslan. At
the center of the controversy are the organiza
tions bylaws and two elections earlier this sum
mer in which the women were not re-elected.
They claim foul play, saying the elections
were illegal and served to remove them from the
board without due process. Pride Northwest
Inc., a 501 (c)3 nonprofit, produces Portlands
annual gay pride parade and festival.
Officials insist both elections were not only
legal but were ethical and democratic. In fact,
Cannclla Ettinger, the board’s current chair, says
neither Swan nor MacAuslan actually was
“removed.”
Attorney Brad W oodworth— who was
retained by Pride Northwest to review a 14-page
letter sent to the board from more than 40 com
munity members including Swan and MacAus
lan— addressed their 13 complaints in a
response obtained by Just Out. Although he rec
ommends several amendments to the bylaws for
clarity, he finds no wrongdoing.
Swan, who was appointed as a temporary
member of Pride Northwest’s board, asked for an
election June 8 to make her a regular member
when her term neared its end. The board com
plied with her request, but she did not receive
the two-thirds majority she needed to remain on
the board.
Wcxxlworth suggests future temporary board
members be given full one-year tenns.
MacAuslan wasn’t “removed” either,
Ettinger says. The entire board underwent an
election July 8. MacAuslan was the only board
member who failed to gamer the needed votes.
Ettinger says she asked for early elections this
summer so Pride Northwest could get a head
start on next year’s event.
Typically, the board forms during an early
autumn retreat. Ettinger says no one present
voiced any objection to the early election.
But MacAuslan says she did object and
expressed that the election was highly unusual
and planned without any notice. In recent years,
board members only have declared whether
they wanted to continue to serve and were not
elected at all, she explains.
MacAuslan says elections never have been
done. Dana Rosenlund, also on the board, says
she objected as well.
“I tore up my ballot. This has never been
done before,” she recalls saying.
MacAuslan suspects the special election was
planned to remove her from the board because of
long-running personality conflicts and unresolved
issues that had festered throughout the year.
But Ettinger disagrees. She says that the board
might have not cast ballots at the previous fall
retreat but that it did vote on individual mem
bers.
She says that this year’s election was
announced ahead of time and that all board mem
bers were present. Wcxxlworth says the board
acted within its power and abided by the bylaws.
Although the election might have been
unprecedented, it apparently was above-board.
Pride Northwest’s bylaws specify a one-year term
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Carmella Ettinger works on site setup for this
year’s event
for members with no limitation on the number
of terms they can serve.
The bylaws also require board members to
receive an approving two-thirds vote. They do
not specify when elections are to be held.
Ettinger thinks that most of the community
is happy with the work the organization does
and that Pride 2000 was the most successful
event to date, with record attendance, volun
teers, booths and parade entries. She says this is
the first year it “came out in the black.”
“We have addressed the community,” she
says. “We are trying to move ahead and produce
an event.”
Jack Keegan, Pride Northwest’s vice chair and
last year’s chair, says: “We had an election, we
made some decisions, and we are sticking by them.
We can’t revisit every decision that we’ve made.”
Ettinger insists Pride Northwest is answer-
able to the community about the event but not
the board’s internal issues. Starting in Septem
ber, public comments will be accepted during
evening meetings usually held the first Wednes
day of each month at Portland State Universi
ty’s Smith Hall.
In the meantime, Swan, MacAuslan and
their supporters will continue to strategize. They
have scheduled a community meeting for Aug.
23 to address the elections and a lengthy list of
additional concerns and complaints.
The citizen group is expected to request formal
ly the resignation of the entire Pride Northwest
board. Members say their objections are all out of
concern for an event they truly care about—one
some of them have been involved with for years.
Despite that, they insist they will not let the
situation rest. If it takes formal reports to the
secretary of state and the Internal Revenue
Service, the group says it will do just that.
Others want the situation to go away. “I’m
hoping it will fizzle,” says Christopher Webster,
formerly of Pride Northwest.
Ettinger says that she will not attend the
upcoming community meeting and that Pride
Northwest has not been extended an official
invitation. The gathering’s sponsors insist they
repeatedly have asked the board to come.
■ A community meeting will be held from
6 to 9 [).m. Aug. 23 at Metropolitan Community
Church of Portland, 2400 N.E. Broadway.
To review PRIDE NORTHWEST’S finances , visit
icute. pndenw. comJlmdenwbudge t . html.
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