There are 17 candidates running for a total of seven seats. You may vote only once, for as many as seven different candidates. The candidates are (alphabetized by first name):

• Allen Tom
• Brian Kissel
• Chris Messina
• David Recordon
• Dick Hardt
• Eran Hammer-Lahav
• Eric Sachs
• Johannes Ernst
• John Bradley
• Joseph Smarr
• Luke Shepard
• Martin Atkins
• Mike Kirkwood
• Nat Sakimura
• Peter Nixey
• Scott Kveton
• Snorri Giorgetti

All candidates listed above received the requisite three seconds to run for the election. The four candidates who receive the most votes will serve two year terms and the three candidates receiving the next highest numbers of votes will serve one year terms. (This allows us to institute staggered two-year terms going forward.)

Board membership requires a substantial ongoing investment of time and energy. Board members will be called upon to serve both on the board and on its committees where the work of the foundation is conducted, and to actively contribute. The best candidates are passionate about OpenID and advancing digital identity, will have the time to devote to community service in this manner, and are people who gets things done and work well with others.

Voting requires that you sign in with the OpenID that you used to register when you joined the Foundation. If you experience problems participating in the election or joining the foundation, please send a note to membership@oidf.org.

Voting began on December 10 and ends on Wednesday, December 24. Results will be announced by Wednesday, December 31, with the new board terms starting the next day, on Thursday, January 1.

Upon completion of the election, the new board will elect the officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) as well as the Executive Committee.

Bill Washburn has been the Executive Director of the OpenID Foundation since January 2007 and was instrumental in all these achievements. BIll took a leap of faith during the formation of the Foundation, working tirelessly on the promise that it we would succeed. Bill’s skills as a mediator and his passion for the Foundation’s mission made the impossible possible. In short, without Bill, the OpenID Foundation would not exist. We, as a community, owe a huge debt of gratitude to him for all of the work that he has done.

As is true with any growing organization, a time comes when a different set of skills are needed as the organization moves from one phase to another. That time has come for the Foundation. The Foundation now needs a more operationally focused Executive Director to deliver on the Foundation’s new needs. Bill Washburn will remain on to help with the recruiting and transition. If you think you have the right stuff for the OpenID Foundation, please drop us a line at board@openid.net.