Communicator board candidates clash over voting rights, suspension case

Candidates for the three-year Communicator position on the National Press Club Board of Governors challenged each other over voting rights for Communicators and the Club’s handling of a Communicator member’s suspension at a Nov. 30 debate.

Suzanne Struglinski, press secretary for legislative affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council; Rodrigo Valderrama, principal of the consulting firm Plantation International; and Emily Whitten, a contract attorney with the Department of the Interior, vied for Club Communicator-member votes by highlighting their professional experience and service in the Club.

The Club elections will be held Dec. 9. Members can vote in the library any time between now and then.

Struglinski, who was a Washington reporter for nearly a decade, was formerly in the Journalist-member category. She said she brings to the Club journalism experience augmented by daily interaction with reporters in her present job. She received a Vivian Award in 2005 and 2006 for membership recruitment and retention. In 2011, she cooperated with Club President Mark Hamrick to inaugurate Meet the Press Club networking events.

Struglinski said she would like to improve communication to the more than 1300 Communicator members who pay higher dues and deserve stronger Club benefits.

Valderrama, the incumbent Communicator board member, highlighted his participation on the Board for the past two years. He said his frequent presence in the Club keeps him aware of member, staff and Board activities.

He argued that his background in banking, trading and finance enables him to understand the financial and business issues of the Club. He noted his participation with the Events and House and Bar committees, as well as others. He would like to see more events beyond Washington and a more international focus in the Club.

Whitten, a Young Member who studied journalism and political science in college, said her background as an attorney equips her to understand procedural and financial issues on the Board. She described her professional experience organizing two conventions for 1000 attendees, working with committees of more than 30 people and 90 volunteers. She said the events she organized for the Club's Book and Author committee raised $12,400 for the library.

Whitten and Valderrama advocated giving Communicators the right to vote for Club officers in addition to granting the Communicator board members full voting rights.

Struglinski said she was realistic about the voting status of Communicators and would rather devote energy to professional development and communications within the Club.

Past attempts to extend full voting rights to Communicator board representatives did not succeed. Struglinski pointed out that Communicator board members vote in the Committee of the Whole, which passes budget proposals.

Whitten challenged the Club’s suspension of a Communicator member stemming from an incident when the former chief of Saudi intelligence operations spoke at a recent Newsmaker event.

She asserted that he had been suspended for asking difficult questions. Because the incident became the subject of media coverage on the Internet, she said the Club appeared to suppress free speech.

Struglinski and Valderrama replied that the suspension reflected a failure to ask questions appropriately and was not a free speech issue. The Club member's suspension has since been lifted.

All three candidates mentioned that the Club provides the opportunity to network and to meet interesting people. Whitten and Struglinski noted the workshops that are not available anywhere else in Washington.

Requests for absentee ballots may be sent to Nicole Hoffman at [email protected], faxed to 202-879-6785 or by telephone during normal business hours to 202-662-7523. The last day to request an absentee ballot delivered by mail is today, Dec. 2.

A list of candidates, candidate statements and links to both the presidential and communicator debases may be found at http://press.org/membership/elections. Members have to log in to access them.