The Writers Guild of America West on Tuesday unveiled its final list of candidates for its 2019 officers and board of directors election, with multiple candidates for each position in an election that is expected to be a referendum on the guild’s ongoing battle against the major talent agencies.
That effort, now approaching its fourth month and mired in court, has seen little movement, notwithstanding that two smaller agencies, Verve and Kaplan Stahler, have signed on to the WGA’s terms. The election will be the first time that writers will be able to provide hard evidence as to whether the guild remains united around a strategy that has produced dissent among an unknown percentage of the membership.
The candidates for president are William Schmidt, David A. Goodman (incumbent) and Phyllis Nagy. (WGAW rules require candidates to be announced in an order determined by lot.)
For vp: Carl Gottlieb, Marjorie David (inc.) and Craig Mazin.
For secretary-treasurer: Nick Jones Jr., Evette Vargas and Michele Mulroney. Incumbent Aaron Mendelsohn is not seeking re-election.
There are 21 candidates running for eight open seats on the guild’s board of directors: Meredith Stiehm (inc.), Ed Herro, Zoe Marshall, Mike Mariano, Liz Alper, Rasheed Newson, Luvh Rakhe (inc.), Nicole Yorkin (inc.), Angelina Burnett (inc.), Nicholas Kazan, Ashley Edward Miller, Sarah Treem, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Ayelet Waldman, Courtney A. Kemp, Jason Fuchs, Robb Chavis, Dante W. Harper, Rob Forman, Chris Roessner and Marc Guggenheim.
Andrew Bobrow withdrew his candidacy on Sunday, and Alvaro Rodriguez did likewise on Tuesday.
The WGAW will host its annual candidates night for members on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Guild members will receive candidate, non-candidate and rebuttal statements, if any, with their ballots prior to the election; the WGA did not immediately respond to an inquiry as to when ballots would be sent out. The voting period will conclude at Monday, Sept. 16, at 12:00 p.m. PT. Members may vote online or by mail.
