Behrens and Waggoner win retiree board seats
Retirees Tim Behrens and Gene Waggoner II are the victors in the elections to fill two positions on the CSEA Retirees, Inc. Board of Directors.
The results were announced Jan. 5 after members of the CSEA Golden Girls and one Chapter 165 member counted the ballots at the CSEA Retirees’ corporate office in Sacramento.
Behrens, the former president of the Association of California State Supervisors (ACSS) and a member of CSEA Retirees’ Chapter 35, garnered 394 votes. He was followed by incumbent Addie Jackson, who received 303 votes in the race for the District F position on the board.
Richard Ballinger came in third place with 199 votes, followed by Stephanie Day with 60 votes. There were a total of 990 ballots received and 34 invalid ballots.
District F represents members in Chapters 11, 16 and 35 in the counties of Amador, Calaveras, Fresno Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Tulare and Kern (Western side of the Tehachapi Mountains.)
The victor for the District G position on the board is Gene Waggoner II, the longtime president of CSEA Retirees’ Chapter 6 and chair of the Presidents’ Forum, which is a group comprised of CSEA Retirees’ 25 chapter presidents.
Waggoner received 443 votes, followed by incumbent Fred Cordova, who got 404 votes.
Other candidates were Diane Whorton, who garnered 364 votes; Danny Morales with 138 votes; and Samuel Jurado who received 77 votes.
There were 1,478 ballots received and 52 invalid ballots.
District G represents members in Chapters 6, 12, 17 and 34 within the counties of Imperial, Inyo, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, portions of Los Angeles and Kern (Eastern side of the Tehachapi Mountains).
Members on the CSEA Retirees Board of Directors serve for three years. There won’t be another open seat until 2011 when elections will be held for board positions in Districts A, B and C, which include Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo and the Bay Area, respectively.
Both Behrens and Waggoner thanked the members who voted for them and said they would work hard to represent all of the members in their districts.
“I look forward to enhancing the communication between CSEA Retirees, Inc. and the chapters,” Behrens said. “I will also work hard to make sure we preserve or make better our retirements and benefits.”
Waggoner said he wants to encourage individual members in District G to take an active role in CSEA Retirees, Inc. and in state politics that affect their lives.
“They don’t necessarily have to attend meetings, although that’s a good idea. They can become involved by writing letters, making phone calls and voting for their legislators, their local representatives and for those who represent them in CSEA Retirees,” Waggoner said. “Initially you may think it’s insignificant, but down the road you’ll see that it matters.”
Developing rapport with legislators or district representatives is also important to Waggoner. He wants to match up constituents with the legislators in District G so that retirees can improve their chances of talking with someone in each legislative office.
Membership recruitment is another common goal for Behrens and Waggoner.
Reaching out to CSEA members before they retire should be a priority, they said. Speaking at district labor council and chapter meetings will make active members more aware of what CSEA Retirees can offer them in retirement.
“Retirees need to stand shoulder to shoulder with state employees and show solidarity. We were all state employees at one point of our careers.”