The Moscow Food Co-op Board of Directors elections were held electronically throughout the month of March. There were two open seats. 205 people voted, out of more than 4,800 eligible voters. There were 383 votes cast in total because each person was allowed to vote for up to two candidates but not everybody chose two.

Several dozen paper ballots were submitted; just a few of these were invalid due to the voter’s membership not being current. (Some people who were unable to vote online because of their expired memberships then tried to submit paper ballots instead.)

Another reason for failed voting attempts was that the membership was shared and the other person with that member number had already voted. Not everyone was happy about that but most members appreciate that our dedication to co-operative principles, which includes one-membership/one-vote, is unwavering.

Chris Norden and Dena Neese received the most votes, and joined the board in April. We’re so glad to have them, and we’re grateful to all of the candidates for the effort they put into the process.

We can look at the low voter turnout — which is par for the course for most co-ops — in several ways. Maybe the vast majority is happy with things as they are and don’t feel any need to vote; maybe the vast majority feels disenfranchised and cynical about the process so that don’t have any reason to vote; maybe the vast majority doesn’t really think about it all, they’re just glad we’ve got organic chocolate ice cream in the freezer section.

Which view you take depends entirely on your worldview, I think, and you can probably guess that I’m of the “the glass is half-full” camp. A majority of happy members and staff would explain why I enjoy my job so much and why I meet proud Co-op members everywhere I go. This isn’t to say there’s not room for improvement; we’re always trying to do everything better, all the time.

A big thank-you to the 205 members who voted; we really appreciate it. If you didn’t vote this year, let me know why not, and then plan on participating in our democracy next time around!

Below are the official election results.