Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Meeting quorum questions

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Jun 20, 2009, at 2:26 PM, John Beutler wrote:

> At Liberty Village (Libertytow, MD) we have a proxy system whereby
> different folks "hold proxies" for others.

Proxies that mean "I consent to anything you decide" or "I consent to  
the proposal"?

The problem with proxies for anything other than saying, I consent to  
_anything_ you decide, is that they negate the importance of  
information. Unless the meeting is just a rubber stamp, one would  
expect information to come out in the discussion that might influence  
the decision. There might also be amendments.

Since the number of consents is meaningless in consensus decision- 
making because it's all or nothing, a proxy could only be meaningful  
to establish quorum.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org