The Argyle Fans’ Trust Board would like to update its position on the PASB election process.

A fortnight has passed since the Trust first raised concerns with the election process on behalf of supporters, including Trust members as well as many of the individuals and supporter group representatives who might sit on the resulting Supervisory Board.

The Trust believes that in the interests of transparency and accountability, those delegated with the responsibility of managing the election process should respond to these concerns, which include ballot papers being sent to Club Members as young as two years old.

The Trust therefore urges that, prior to the election result being announced, those managing the process should formally consult the candidates and supporter group representatives who may serve on the Supervisory Board. This could be achieved either directly and/or through a meeting for those who might be at this weekend’s home match. We believe that the candidates and supporter group representatives should together agree a path forward to restore confidence in the process, since they will form the initial Board.

The Trust would like to reiterate that we believe the establishment of a Supervisory Board to oversee the decisions and finances of the club at boardroom level is highly desirable, and we share James Brent’s aim to have a model that is amongst the top examples of supporter governance in the country.

While the issues with the election process should be resolved with the agreement of the candidates and supporter group representatives involved, it is the Trust Board’s belief that it is desirable to find a means to quickly form an interim Supervisory Board which would
a) seek to hold fresh elections as soon as possible;
b) determine how a broader set of fans, including pay-on-the-day supporters, could be enfranchised in the new election process;
c) use the intervening time to meet with the club to agree the initial scope of what boardroom and financial information will be disclosed, and to make the current information available to supporters.

The Trust believes that if appropriate action is taken now, the process of establishing a high quality, inclusive, supporter-driven Supervisory Board can be quickly brought back on track.