SAG-AFTRA’s First National Election Results * Update *

from: Todd Cunningham, TheWrap.com

Ken Howard and Esai Morales are vying for the presidency in first vote since the merger

Whether or not the presidential race delivers on the drama, there’s sure to be a degree of suspense surrounding the inaugural SAG-AFTRA election: Will it come off without a hitch?

The results, which will determine who will head the newly-merged union during next year’s negotiations on a new contract with the studios and TV networks, could be announced as early as 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

But the tabulation of the ballots, which were mailed out on July 16, will be uncharted territory for the union, which now has more than 160,000 members. SAG-AFTRA spokeswoman Pamela Greenwalt cautioned that the counting could go into the evening.

Results of the voting in the  Los Angeles local, whose members make up about half of the union’s membership, and New York local elections will also be announced at the same time. Schedules vary for other local elections, and several have already been announced.

Ken Howard, the union’s current co-president, is running for the top spot against national board member Esai Morales. SAG’s Howard and AFTRA’s Roberta Reardon have been co-presidents since March of last year, when members approved the merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Howard, who was elected in 2009 as the 25th and final president of SAG, heads the union’s Unite For Strength slate. He and that group were strong advocates for merger, while Morales and his Membership First allies campaigned strongly against it.

Howard has the edge in most observers’ eyes, given his incumbency and the vote on the merger, which passed with a whopping 86 percent of the votes. National secretary-treasurer candidates are current co-secretary-treasurer Amy Aquino, who is aligned with Howard, and stuntwoman Jane Austin, who is backing Morales.

 

Reardon, the former AFTRA president who is currently serving as co-president with Howard, is running for president of the N.Y. local. But she also has her eye on the national executive vice-president position, which will be chosen by delegates at the union’s convention.

That’s a potentially powerful position, which would make Reardon the chief operative for the president. If Howard wins, it would essentially put those two at the top again.

Reardon is running against fellow merger-supporter Mike Hodge, who will be seeking his third consecutive term atop the local, and tops a slate of United Screen Actors Nationwide. Howard has endorsed Hodge.

Besides the president and secretary-treasurer, the contests will determine most members of a new 70-seat national board along with delegates to the first SAG-AFTRA convention — where the exec VP and seven other VPs will be elected in late September.

 

– UPDATE –

A couple hours after announcing the re-election of Ken Howard as National President, the union has unveiled the results of its Los Angeles local balloting. Clyde Kusatsu was elected President, with Jenny O’Hara as First VP and Susan Boyd Joyce as Second VP. This is the 24th of the 25 SAG-AFTRA locals to be announced, leaving only New York, the results of which are expected tonight.

Clyde Kusatsu President Two-Year Term
Jenny O’Hara First Vice President Two-Year Term
Susan Boyd Joyce Second Vice President Two-Year Term
Jenny O’Hara Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Esai Morales Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Amy Aquino Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Clyde Kusatsu Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Gabrielle Carteris Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Joanna Cassidy Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Jason George Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Jane Austin Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Patricia Richardson Local Board Member Two-Year Term
L. Scott Caldwell Local Board Member Two-Year Term
D.W. Moffett Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Marisol Nichols Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Vivicca A. Whitsett Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Jon Huertas Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Woody Schultz Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Sumi Haru Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Mimi Cozzens Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Tara Radcliffe Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Natalia Castellanos Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Ellen Crawford Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Elizabeth McLaughlin Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Shyla La’Sha Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Patrick Fabian Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Dan Navarro Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Ana Lilia Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Michelle Dunker Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Robin Riker Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Assaf Cohen Local Board Member Two-Year Term
George Coe Local Board Member Two-Year Term
David Jolliffe Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Patrika Darbo Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Paul Napier Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Lauri Hendler Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Kate Linder Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Ron Morgan Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Tracy Fraim Local Board Member Two-Year Term
David Westberg Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Michael Bell Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Bertila Damas Local Board Member Two-Year Term
William Charlton Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Clyde Sacks Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Julie Michaels Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Galen Hooks Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Iqbal Theba Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Mike Sakellarides Local Board Member Two-Year Term
Martin Sheen National Board Member Four-Year Term
Tony Shalhoub National Board Member Four-Year Term
Esai Morales National Board Member Four-Year Term
Ken Howard National Board Member Four-Year Term
Jenny O’Hara National Board Member Four-Year Term
Amy Aquino National Board Member Four-Year Term
Clyde Kusatsu National Board Member Four-Year Term
Stephen Collins National Board Member Four-Year Term
Marcia Wallace National Board Member Four-Year Term
Jane Austin National Board Member Four-Year Term
Joanna Cassidy National Board Member Four-Year Term
Gabrielle Carteris National Board Member Four-Year Term
Robert Pine National Board Member Four-Year Term
Jeff Garlin National Board Member Two-Year Term
Jason George National Board Member Two-Year Term
Patricia Richardson National Board Member Two-Year Term
Marisol Nichols National Board Member Two-Year Term
D.W. Moffett National Board Member Two-Year Term
Lisa Vidal National Board Member Two-Year Term
Susan Boyd Joyce National Board Member Four-Year Term
Sumi Haru National Board Member Two-Year Term
Hal Eisner National Board Member Two-Year Term
L. Scott Caldwell National Board Member Two-Year Term
Jon Huertas National Board Member Two-Year Term
Mimi Cozzens National Board Member Two-Year Term
Ellen Crawford National Board Member Two-Year Term
Patrick Fabian National Board Member Two-Year Term
Bobbie Bates National Board Member Two-Year Term

 

Film Works LA      Like Film This! on Facebook