Central Region
Central Regional Vice-President
Dev Kennedy has given decades to union governance, spending countless hours in the Council and Board rooms, in committee work and membership meetings and negotiations. He serves the entire national membership, by remaining a tireless advocate for the needs and unique concerns of the Central Region membership and theatrical ecosystems – and is frequently a voice of inspiration in ways that I sometimes feel I can only aspire to. He’s got the occasional blind spot, can occasionally get prickly, and I by no means always agree with him, but he listens, and in my experience, leads respectfully with appropriate measures of confidence and humility.
A Central Council seat is not an entry-level position, and the Central Vice-Presidency requires so very much more.
And no one with the experience or qualifications to do the job nearly as well as he chose to run against him.
Please vote to re-elect Dev Kennedy as Central Regional Vice-President. You can find his candidate material here and here.
Central Principal
If you haven’t yet, please read my post on our governance structure, and why I think prior incumbency or experience on the CRB is the single most important factor when voting for Central Region Councilors.
In that light, but only in part, of the 6 candidates running for the 3 open Central Principal seats, I ask you to vote for me, Wydetta Carter, and Richard Shavzin.
I’ve made my personal case elsewhere.
Wydetta’s a sitting incumbent running for re-election, and we need her to continue in office. She’s principled, experienced, thoughtful, and I trust her voice. She’s a fantastic, supportive colleague who also runs a mean meeting, and we are better with her in the room. See her candidate information here and here.
Richard is one of the most passionate and dedicated unionists I know, and one of our important cross-links to both SAG-AFTRA and the broader labor movement. He’s smart, and works his ass off. He was a CRB non-Councilor member, served one term on Council, and then returned to the CRB when defeated for re-election 2 years ago. See his information here and here.
I do want to briefly speak to the other candidates in this category.
Leah Morrow was elected to a non-Councilor seat on the CRB this past year in a special election to fill an opening. I’ve known her for about a decade, and am thrilled that she’s taken the step to be more involved. But I want to see her get more committee experience and spend more time on the CRB before taking the next step to Council.
James A. Williams I only know by reputation. He’s active in the Twin Cities, which is an area we desperately need more represented on committees. Should he not be elected, I hope to see him get further involved.
Bear Bellinger is the hardest candidate for me not to endorse. He’s a passionate activist, makes me think, forces me to self-reflect, and I’m grateful and appreciative that he’s willing to participate in hard conversations. I want him in the room. But as with Leah, I also want him to have experience on the CRB before electing him to a Council seat. It’s just as simple as that. If we had some of the East’s 47 seats, I’d be pushing him forward in a heartbeat. But as it is, should he not be elected, I very much hope he’ll run for a Convention Delegate seat and for a term on CRB. I’ll then be the first to sign his petition to run for Council again in 2 years.