Another USACA election shambles

In a manoeuvre that has stirred up tension among cricket administrators across America, USA Cricket Association board member Shelton Glasgow has declared null and void all regional elections that have taken place in advance of October's USACA general election. Glasgow, the board representative from the Atlantic Region acting as USACA's elections compliance officer, communicated the decision to board members and constituents in an email on July 28.

The email was sent out only days after the Atlantic Region held its election, the results of which have not been released. Sheldon Ellis, the outgoing regional chairman who was also serving as the returning officer for the election, tallied the results but was instructed by USACA President Gladstone Dainty not to release them.

At the request of five member leagues of the region, Ellis sent the results to the transitional secretary, Sheldon Mollineau but at an emergency meeting on August 4 organized by several league representatives from the region, Mollineau said he would not release the results because of instructions received in an email from Dainty.

Dainty's email, sent to all USACA constituents, stated that Glasgow's work has "produced a body of evidence which is clearly demonstrating that the USACA honor system of compliance has been abused by several leagues and officials." It went on to say that "an independent accounting or law firm will be engaged with the expectation that all USACA leagues and officials will cooperate to the fullest, including a stay of all elections until this process is completed." If this is upheld it would possibly have a major effect on not just each region but the national election, due for October 15.

Glasgow's role as the compliance officer monitoring elections across all regions is seen as a conflict of interest with his own region. The Atlantic Region was one of five regions to hold their elections ahead of the October national elections. Sources have indicated Glasgow would have lost his seat on the USACA board had the results been officially released. Only days later, his email was issued declaring all regional elections null and void with Dainty's follow up email supporting his actions.

The decision to void the elections has not gone unopposed. USACA secretary John Aaron is one of several board members questioning the authority of both Glasgow and Dainty to enact these decisions. Aaron had been appointed the USACA compliance officer initially to monitor the North West and South West elections earlier in the year, but resigned from the position after Dainty refused to acknowledge evidence that Aaron and his two committee members, Glasgow and Lisa Brulport, presented to show that three leagues were ineligible to vote. According to Aaron, Dainty said that the leagues - Greater Los Angeles Cricket Association, Orange County Cricket Association and California Cricket League - could still vote in their regional elections and therefore the national election as well on the basis that the leagues had already paid their annual dues and at the time the payment was received no one had told them they were ineligible.

"Officially, I was only informed that [Glasgow] was the compliance officer from a letter that the president wrote in support of Mr. Glasgow's actions," Aaron told ESPNcricinfo. "The board never met and appointed him, nor did the president advise the board in writing or any other manner as far as I know that Mr. Glasgow is the compliance officer."

In Glasgow's email, he states that USACA is "moving very meticulously towards building a pristine organization, a world class sporting body." The basis of the email was to request the submission of data surveys from each league by August 2 to verify which leagues are still active and subsequently which ones are eligible to vote in the USACA general election.

"New York had fair and square elections that were held," said Aaron. "California had fair and square elections that were held. Nobody sought to stop those elections before. Where was this data survey sheet when those elections were being conducted in California? Why is it on the eve of the results from the Atlantic Region being released, the returning officer Mr. Sheldon Ellis is asked by the president, 'No. Do not release those results.' Why? One has got to ask the question. What is he afraid of?"

Aaron says that the actions of Glasgow and Dainty are the latest in a recent string of abuses of power by the president, with whom Glasgow has been closely aligned politically, and that Glasgow is acting in concert with Dainty to manipulate the voting process around the country.

USACA has not had an in-person board meeting since November and as a result Aaron claims that Dainty has made numerous decisions without consulting the board. The voting and compliance issue is the latest incident to divide the board with the appointments of the Cricket Holdings America LLC board members and the two interim vice presidents to the USACA board also failing to meet what Aaron considers due process.

"It is so obvious that the process that's being employed by the president of USACA is nothing short of corruption. I'm ashamed to be a member of this board and I just hope that other members of this USACA board will come out and stand on the side of fairness, protocol and process. I know there are members of this board who agree with me - Krish Prasad, Tony Gilkes and Ahmed Jeddy - who have reached out to the president to resolve these and other issues in an amicable way so that this association can move forward as a united association. Those efforts have been rebuffed by the president, rebuffed and not even considered."

Attempts to reach both Glasgow and Dainty for a response to this story were unsuccessful.