This summer we will hold elections for American Planning Association, Pennsylvania Chapter, Southeast Section (APA PA SE) Officers and Council members. Although the deadline has passed for nominations by the Nominating Committee, you may still nominate yourself to be placed on the ballot through the petition process. Any member of the Section who is eligible to hold office and is not proposed by the Nominating Committee for membership on the Section Council may be placed on the ballot by the Nominating Committee upon receipt of a petition making such a proposal submitted by June 10 and signed by not less than twenty (20) Section members who are eligible to vote. Please submit petitions to elections@apapase.org.

• The four Section Council Officer positions consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Chair provides leadership and guides the development of the chapter, the Vice Chair assists, the Treasurer maintains the budget and all financial matters, while the Secretary administers the documentation and membership of the organization.
• A Professional Planner is an individual earning a majority of their income practicing planning or who is retired from such occupation. Professional planners are required to be a member of the Pennsylvania Chapter of APA.
• A Citizen Planner is any appointed or elected official who is involved in planning decisions for the betterment of a state, region, county, city or municipality; who is
  individual who has an interest in furthering the purposes of Association, but who is not a Professional Planner (for example, planning commissioner, planning official, zoning board member, Philadelphia RCO zoning representative, or similar). Elected citizen planners will receive complementary membership to the Pennsylvania Chapter of APA.

If you are interested in serving either in an Officer or Council member position:

• New members welcome! No previous experience required.
• AICP not required to join the board.
• Review the Chapter Bylaws for descriptions of the Officer and Council member duties and responsibilities.
• Determine if your schedule will allow sufficient time for the position, generally 1-3 hours/month.
• Speak with current Officers or Council members regarding any questions or concerns.
• Submit a petition signed by not less than twenty (20) Section members who are eligible to vote by June 10th to the Nominating Committee no later than June 10th at: elections@apapase.org. Include a brief biography (3-4 sentences). You may also submit a mission statement and picture.

The official elections ballot will be distributed online during the summer by APA national to coincide with their election and voting will end in early September. The results of the election shall be published for Section members in October, with official terms to start in January 2022.

Please visit the APAPA-Southeast Section website for more information about the section.

APA PA SE is looking to fill a recently vacated Citizen Planner position. According to Section bylaws a Citizen Planner is defined as:

“Any appointed or elected official who is involved in planning decisions for the betterment of a state, region, county, city or municipality; who is individual who has an interest in furthering the purposes of Association, but who is not a Professional Planner (for example, planning commissioner, planning official, zoning board  member, Philadelphia RCO zoning representative, or similar). This will be congruent with the Chapter definition for Planning Commissioner/Planning Official.”

Attendance at virtual, bi-monthly Section Council meetings held at 5:30 PM on the second Thursday of every other month is required. Please send names of interested candidates to chair@apapase.org.

Please note that there will be no Section Council Meeting (or events committee meeting) tomorrow night due to council member conflicts that will result in no quorum. We are working to reschedule the meeting and will let you know the new date as soon as possible.