Posted by Fleet Captain Jerome Davis (Presidential Candidate) in Questions for the Candidates - Favoritism

Posted by Thomas B in Questions for the Candidates - Favoritism

Posted by Fleet Captain Jerome Davis (Presidential Candidate) in Questions for the Candidates - Favoritism
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
These are questions for all candidates.

On August 13, 2017, Jerome posted the following in Command as part of a longer post, stating that no one seemed to be getting that this is a problem:

“We tell people to do one thing and do another when someone in the President’s clique, or the FCOMM’s clique or the cool kids clique gets offended.”

In the post Jerome had also explained his perspective that this had been a problem for several years and had caused many members to quit.

Do you personally believe favoritism has been a significant problem in STF in the past couple years? Why or why not?

How will you avoid favoritism as an executive?

If you view cliques as a problem, are you more immune to their effects than others? If so, why?

Adam W.

Hey Adam,
Thanks for your question (and digging!). Yes, I absolutely feel that favoritism is and has remained a significant problem… not just recently but over my 15 years of club membership. It has, at times, waned but it remains an issue today. This has a lot to do with the concentration of influence within a small group of people and the aggressive manner by which that small group defends its own. Sadly, I honestly doubt those involved do so with malice… I really don’t. I just feel how they go about it does not create a healthy community environment.

NOTE: I want to make it perfectly clear, I don’t intend for a single soul in this club to be offended or feel attacked by that statement. It is an observation of behaviors I have personally witnessed for years and do not believe that most are ever made with ill intent. They just happen to circle the wagons a heck of a lot harder than others. I mention only to address the question asked and attempted to do so in the most respectful way possible.

Now… is that kind of intense passion a bad thing? Inherently, no… as so long as it does not affect the day-to-day as well as long term running of the organization. I will be the first to stand up and defend those I feel have been negatively impacted by favoritism, several times deliberately shifting the pressure off a younger member onto myself because I tend to have a bit thicker skin and am far from afraid to stand up for what I feel is right.

How I intend to avoid favoritism is the way I always have… by encouraging community discussions and not leaving out a single opinion. That is the essence of teamwork and ensures everyone’s voice is heard.

As for immunity to favoritism, I say no. I believe the biggest confirmation of my own lack of immunity is the fact I have served in STF for over 15 years… with multiple CO & XO multi-year runs under my belt… and have served multiple times in Cabinet. And yet, I have been repeatedly passed over for promotion into Flag Ranks even though there have been many join after me that have shot past me. Does it have really matter, for someone with an actual commission…? No, not really. I got over the sting of being left out years ago when I finally pinned on FCapt.

I came into this campaign seeing an opportunity to make some effective and lasting change in the club. Change that will, hopefully, break up some of the cliques and create a more healthy environment for all.

Thank you for your questions,
Jerome

Jerome,

Thank you for your answer and you’re welcome for asking it. I have a follow up question for you.

I joined STF in the middle of 2014. Since then STF has had 11 different presidents. Each of them was president once during that time period. The next term STF will have a different president once again.

Do you think it would be reasonable to consider this as evidence that we don’t have one aggressive small group with influence that’s been in power?

Adam W.

Hey Adam,
Not really… I wanna say at least two or three times, folks ran unopposed. Further, a “small group” in our case isn’t four or five people. It’s around 10% of the club, say 10-12 people, and it’s not just the disparity in Executive diversity… but the Cabinet in general.

I have committed myself to a course of action I hope to become standard in the club and maybe even legislated into permanent status. I personally commit, for the remainder on my time in membership, to the following and challenge my opponents to make the same pledge from this day forward:

1) Term limits of 2 Presidential terms.

2) Commitment to serving only up to two back to back terms in Cabinet before voluntarily step back to train a first timer. While repeat service would be permitted, a cooling off period of service permits others the opportunity to lead.

3) Commitment to serving no more than two terms in EGO

By the senior membership committing to these limits, I believe it will break up the disparity in club leadership and encourage diversity in said leadership.

Thanks again,
Jerome

Hi Jerome,

It sounds like you have a good idea of who these 10-12 people are. Who are they?

I sincerely question the notion of a secretive cabal controlling the club… but even if such a notion were true - at what point does something like that become anything more than people who just love the club and put a lot of effort into it? The way your commitments read, anyone who contributes a lot of their time and passion to the club over years should be pushed out of doing what they love, and that’s a little hurtful. Just wanting to clarify.

Thanks,

-Thomas

Hey Thomas,
One, as I mentioned in the previous message to David, no… I’m not going to “name names” because I don’t feel it adds to the conversation. Because when it comes down to it, it’s my perception and if I’m wrong in that perception, the last I want to do is go around unnecessarily harming people. Such behavior is beneath me and what I stand for… which is a commitment to an above board campaign.

Two, I never said there was a “secretive cabal”. Specifically, just above these posts in this thread, what I said in reference to the “group” is “I honestly doubt those involved do so with malice”. I don’t think that sounds as though I’m talking about a “cabal”, instead of just a tight-nit group that “.... just happen to circle the wagons a heck of a lot harder than others.”

Comment redacted at former member’s request

We’re all people Thomas, people that love writing and some… like myself… have felt for too long that they have been prevented from serving because of an established hierarchy that can tend to keep the fun to themselves. Your statement about being “pushed out” tells me you don’t truly understand the importance some people place on service… and that’s ok. We are all here, in this Election ship, to learn about opportunities for growth and new directions for the club. I never, ever, want senior members.... even without a Flag rank, I think I still fall into this category… to feel pushed out or forgotten about. The club needs each of us, to mentor and train the next generation.

Too many times throughout my time here, I’ve had to say goodbye way too soon to good people… mentors and people I looked up to & loved. Brian Olinski, Liz Cario, & Jeremy Despain were wonderful people that mentored me and brought me to a new level of activity. I wish almost every day for one more email, one more call, one more post. I love this club and in my own way love each member in some way… that’s why bringing people up and letting them serve is so important. You, I, Sarah, Robert, James, anyone in leadership right now could be gone tomorrow.

As leaders, our job is to Encourage, Mentor, and Support… and bring up new people that are fully capable to do what we do. I stepped down to run this campaign, take a bit of a breather, and let a new skipper take my beloved Dresden. That Captain turned out to be Captain Ribeiro, a highly capable leader that has a great plan for our future. Our new GM is Harley, an incredible storyteller that I had the honor of serving as his DH in the Academy nearly a decade ago. Today, his stories are some of the most sought after in the club. I look at each of them proud that I had just a little bit to do with bringing them up in the club. That’s what we as senior members need to do, bring up juniors and get the heck out of the way. That’s how my US Coast Guard does it and how I think all leaders should.

Thanks for your questions and I hope this answers each. If not, feel free to fire up some more.

Cheers,
Jerome