Ileana: I'm surprised you would agree with that. We have a Nom. Comm. which hopefully will give careful consideration to nominate people who are qualified and an asset to the Board. Many of the people who run by petition (not all certainly) would not be an asset. I don't think it gives the judges nominated by the Board any advantage over those running by petition. Obviously I was not very clear, luckily for me 7 people brought this to my attention. I would prefer if all the directors ran by petition. They should meet the requirements for the position they are running for, and they should have something to offer to the Board and the membership. Not just lip service. Real solutions to real problems. There should be a program for all the candidates to campaign, putting everyone on an even field. And make themselves available to the membership for questions. I see Joan Fox did just that recently. I was pleasantly surprised. A debate should be mandatory on critical issues to the breed and the membership (maybe a blog??). You know, Washington style. That would be my preference. The judges, however, with all the criteria that is needed, I have no problem with the NomComtt. to name those who are eligible. That way we know they had the assignments and requirements needed to do the National (and the Futurities). Hope this is a little clearer.....<G>. Ileana ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================