[ripe-chair-discuss] Chair nomination process

Hi,

Gert Doering wrote on Thu May 14 11:11:40 CEST 2020:
> So, yes, I think input from RIR staff can be very valuable to policy
> building - the community is watching, and I fully trust the community
> to call "STOP!" if something questionable is proposed.

May I?

STOP

I have spent a while reading the archives and just become more familiar with ripe-727/8.  I feel that I should have become more active before now.

The independence of "RIPE" and the RIPE NCC is written into our DNA and I support Nurani's statement that this independence "sits at the heart of our community values".  

"RIPE", the community, created the RIPE NCC as our secretariat, as forever described in ripe-19, which I copy from for the list's convenience:

"
   o RIPE defines the tasks and functions of the NCC

   o the NCC reports to RIPE
"
   ... ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ripe-019.txt

-727/8 should be read in the context of -19, and whilst the NCC Executive Board appoints the chair of the RIPE Nominating Committee, the spirit of -19 should influence the NCCEB's selection of a Nomcom chair. This person should come from the community and certainly NOT the NCC secretariat, and plainly for reasons of good governance.  Especially when the authors of ripe-728 include a Nominee and a chair of the RIPE Nominating Committee.

This is not a complaint about any specific person, the contributions of the NCC people involved as nominees or in the Nomcom have been significant to the internet over the years.

I don't think that the concerns that Nick has raised in his email to this list of the evening of the 12th have even slightly been addressed:

Nick Hillard wrote on Tue May 12 22:46:42 CEST 2020:
> This isn't a statement of lack of confidence in any of the people 
> concerned, either individually or collectively, but it looks troubling 
> from the point of view of governance practices.
> In the future, anyone should be able to look back at the nomination 
> process and with full hindsight, feel comfortable that it was sound.  I 
> am not completely sure that we are in this position right now.

Yes.  These are good people!  This governance practice is broken.  The nomination process is not sound.  So let's help the next chair now by ensuring the independence of the RIPE Nominating Committee from the NCC.

Andy