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For all the candidates except the incumbent, are the interests of "At-Large", a By-Laws body charged with providing advice to the Corporation Board, advanced by limiting the tenure of the appointee to Seat allocated to At-Large to a single term? If not, what defect of the incumbent, or advantage unique to you, do you offer as sufficient to end the incumbent's tenure and begin your own? Please note that several individuals have been on the Board in one capacity or another for several terms.

If it is believed that the At-Large Board Director requires more than 3 years to be effective, then the rules governing the elections of the At-Large Director would state that the incumbent should serve for two terms continuously and not be challenged after the completion of the first term OR that the term for the At-Large Board Director should be longer than it is now. 

The current rules allow the electorate to select the candidate that they feel would best serve the interest of the At-Large at a particular point in time.  Moreover, the non-guarantee of a second term re-election serves as a powerful incentive for the incumbent to deliver his/her best performance during the first term, which serves the interest of the At-Large.

All of the candidates are interested in addressing the public interest deficit in the decisions of the board and to strengthen the voice and views of the Internet end user in the board’s decision-making.  What I offer is my unique background and range of skills, knowledge and experiences, which I have elaborated in great detail in my Statement of Interest for the consideration of the At-Large community.

The two parts of the question need to be addressed separately.

I believe that the interests of At-Large are served by allowing a director to serve consecutive terms, following the overall rules applicable to all voting Board members. That potentially puts the At-Large member in a position to assume roles that are often only taken on by those with more experience. Someone on a renewed term may also be in a better position to participate fully in Board activities with less of a learning curve.

The issue of whether the incumbent Director should be given a second term is a completely different question. If In the general case, I believe it both important and healthy that an incumbent needs to have the support of their constituency to continue. I should not be automatic. In this specific case, if I did not believe that At-Large might wish to consider a replacement, I would not have put my name in for the position.

I will not comment n on the overall skills or capabilities of the incumbent, but will say that I was personally disappointed that, as he pointed out on the Candidate interview teleconference on March 6, he chose to remain conflicted related to the new gTLD program and therefore not participate in one of the issues of most interest to At-Large.

I have answered the reasons for my running clearly and completely, in my statement of candidacy (and summarized in my answer to Question #1 above).
While there are some advantages to serving multiple terms, these benefits do not override the public-interest need for a properly democratic process, for Directors to be accountable to the community at appropriate intervals. To argue otherwise is to invite complacency and stagnation.

A Board member's tenure provides no entitlement: I found it completely natural to have failed re-election after my term of duty on the Board, 2007-10. My candidacy for Seat 15 is not motivated by any "defect of the incumbent", nor do I claim to possess any "advantage unique to (me)". In the life of an organization, different times require different profiles. Candidates should be judged not on whether they are incumbents or new applicants, but on the expected value of their contribution.

According to my analysis, the challenges ahead include: clearer and more effective roles to be played by the various i-organizations including ICANN; more substantial globalization of ICANN, in the face of the rapid evolution of the Internet worldwide; placing the Internet user at the heart of ICANN's processes. I am confident I can contribute a global view, gained from my high-level experience in an international context.