Candidates for the GNOME Foundation 2003 Elections

Below you will find a list of candidates who are running for the GNOME Foundation Board of Directors. A short summary statement from each candidate and a link to their full candidacy announcement is provided to help you learn more about them. We encourage all voters to read the full candidacy statements and related discussions on foundation-list@gnome.org.

When deciding who you should vote for, please carefully consider the various tasks the Board of Directors must perform. This overview may be helpful. Keep in mind that the board will make a number of important decisions and will also have to perform many tasks which require a significant amount of time and effort and the ability to work and communicate with other people, companies, and the media. The board of directors will represent GNOME to companies and the world in a very real way. It is a good idea to strive for a well-balanced board consisting of people with various backgrounds, skills, and perspectives.

Additional elections details can be found on the GNOME Foundation Web Site.

If you have any questions, please send them to either foundation-list@gnome.org or to us at elections@gnome.org.

Candidates for the GNOME Foundation Board of Directors

1. Michael Meeks
" On the board I would push for closer integration with other parts of the Free software desktop, particularly OpenOffice.org. I'm also concerned that Gnome stays a meritocracy and yet has a coherent strategy for companies to invest in. I'm interested in the board and it's organs promulgating only non-invasive decisions.
Of course - my real reasons are more related to wanting to pay less for the pure joy of contributing to endless confused ramblings on the phone [ or something ;-]. "
Affiliation: Novell Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-October/msg00002.html

2. Glynn Foster
" I'm not in this for the glamour, the title or girls. I'm not in this to feel popular if I get voted. I'm not in this so that I can sit on the board and avoid the real work. I'm not in this so that I can fanboy the other board members. I want to help the GNOME Project achieve, and I will donate my time and energy to make the ideas become a reality. "
Affiliation: Sun Microsystems Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00000.html

3. Luis Villa
" Getting adjusted on the board is a long-term process- I thought I'd have a massive list of accomplishments from my first term, and I'm disappointed to say I don't. That said, I now have a deep understanding of the board, what our shortcomings are, and feel like we can do a lot in the next year while becoming more focused on what is most important- supporting GNOME development and developers. "
Affiliation: Novell Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00001.html

4. Bill Haneman
" I want to help build on the momentum the current Board is gaining, since it takes time for a new Board to get traction; I'm an active GNOME hacker and lead of the GNOME Accessibility Project, an increasingly visible aspect of GNOME; However I will focus on the 'big picture' GNOME perspective. I think there are key tasks that the Board (and perhaps only the Board) can effectively do; for instance propose policy regarding the GNOME foot/logo and trademark, issue "GNOME-wide" press releases, and liase between the Advisory Board and the developer community. Beyond that, however, I think development policy is best set by developers. "
Affiliation: Sun Microsystems Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00002.html

5. Leslie Proctor
" I've been working with GNOME since the very beginning - I did the media relations around the launch of GNOME. Having a marketing dweeb on the board has some advantages - I look at things through different eyes. If I were a member of the board, I could spot potential marketing opportunities early and more often. I wouldn't have to play catch up as often as I do and could take full advantage of our accomplishments to make some noise for ourselves. I can also be useful in fund raising - I have a great deal of experience in this arena as well. Most importantly - I'm a good team player, am very diplomatic and I communicate well. "
Affiliation: None
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00003.html

6. Nat Friedman
" Vote for me because I care deeply about the success of the foundation, GNOME, and the open source dekstop; because I've devoted the last five years of my life to advancing the Linux desktop; because I believe that we are engaged in a peaceful and bloodless revolution to end poverty, hunger and disempowerment; and because I will keep pushing until we have won. Also in some circles I am known as "the lambada king." "
Affiliation: Novell Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00004.html

7. Jody Goldberg
" I'd like to keep a focus on GNOME development and improving our platform. Co-existing with other projects is useful, but it would be far more effective if the disparate efforts could share a platform, rather than writing bridges between. In my opinion the Getty's 'Drain the swamp' doctrine makes activities like, freedesktop.org, and small share-able libraries like libgsf good contenders for pulling communities together. "
Affiliation: Novell Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00005.html

8. Jonathan Blandford
" I am a long-time member of the GNOME community, and an employee of Red Hat, Inc. Having been active on the Board for two years and treasurer for the past year, I am aiming to serve again. "
Affiliation: Red Hat Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00006.html

9. Owen Taylor
" I'd like to use the experience I have in the technical and organizational side of GNOME to continue the good work the current board has done in moving things forward smoothly, sort out remaining sticky areas, promote cooperation with other parts of the free software world to solve problems for users, and expand the visibility of GNOME in the broader computing world. "
Affiliation: Red Hat Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00007.html

10. Dave Camp
" I've been working on GNOME for awhile, and really care about its success and adoption. The board is starting to play a crucial role in this - getting the developers together with each other (fund raising), and getting the developers together with customers (marketing). I can help get stuff done. "
Affiliation: Novell Inc.
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00008.html

11. Sri Ramkrishna
" Having been convinced to run. I'm running for Foundation Board of Directors. I believe my background as a softare engineer at Intel Corporation will provide experience and a different outlook from others who have backgrounds more devoted directly to Linux and the desktop. I'm also a damn good socialite. :-) "
Affiliation: Intel
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/2003-November/msg00020.html

12. Malcolm Tredinnick
" I would particularly like to help bring GNOME to more third-party developers, encouraging them to build applications that utilise the GNOME platform. I have had dealings with almost all of the other nominees and should be able to work well with them pushing GNOME out into the world. Resolving currently outstanding issues and continuing to move forwards should be important to the board and I think I can provide some enthusiasm to assist with this. "
Affiliation: CommSecure
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00009.html

13. Jeff Waugh
" I love GNOME. I am passionate, motivated, and dedicated to building our success, both outwardly - a foot on every desktop; and inwardly - making sure our developer and user communities are rocking all the time. I have a strong and involved presence on the Board. I am an active member of the community without affiliation with the major GNOME contributing companies, and can strike a balance between these sometimes conflicting positions. Lastly, I am here to help GNOME rock. "
Affiliation: Flow Communications
Full statement at http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-announce/2003-November/msg00010.html

Additional Elections-related Information

Ballots will be sent out via e-mail to everyone who's registered to vote on Friday, November 21th, to the address provided with registration. If you need to change the address to which you want your ballot sent, please contact elections@gnome.org as soon as possible. People will vote by returning the ballot via e-mail. A public archive of the ballot returns will be available after the elections end on December 8th.

Also, keep in mind that there is a 4-person maximum on the number of people affiliated with any one company that can be on the board: if more than 4 persons from one company get elected, only the top 4 vote getters will get on. You will be able to vote for up to 11 candidates of your choice, with no restrictions, except that you cannot vote more than once for the same candidate.