Young members of the $381 million Lafayette Federal Credit Union who organized an effort to win two board seats failed to do so but suggested they would keep on working for change in the Kensington, Md., institution.
David Zuckerman and Chris Bohner gathered enough signatures to put their names on the credit union's ballot for the May 17 election, but in the end each managed to gather only 25% of the votes actually cast, or 373 out of the possible 14,000 ballots, they reported.
Their opponents, incumbent board members Eric Benderson, an attorney with the Small Business Administration, and Treasurer Richard Ginsburg, a senior international trade specialist for the SBA, retained their seats.
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"Given the inherent advantage of the incumbents, and the restrictive voting and election rules, we are pleased with the strong support we received," Bohner said in an email.
"We are really proud of the efforts of all the member-owners who signed the petition to get us on the ballot, and volunteered their time to come out and vote," he wrote, also calling the annual meeting "very constructive" and "lively."
Bohner wrote that he and Zuckerman were particularly proud of the resolutions members approved at the meeting that the board considers allowing members to vote for board candidates by electronic ballots or by mail.
The credit union held its annual meeting this year at a country club which required a dress code to attend and was not located on public transportation lines or close to where many members live and work, the pair had complained.
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