AFM Local 47 Triennial General Election

AFM Local 47 General Elections take place every three years. The next General Election for the AFM Local 47 Executive Board, Hearing Board, and AFM Convention Delegates takes place on Tuesday, December 9, 2025.

Alphabetical Listing of Nominees*

President & Delegate (1 Seat Unopposed):
Marc Sazer

Vice President & Delegate (1 Seat Unopposed):
John Acosta

Secretary/Treasurer & Delegate (1 Seat Unopposed):
Gail Kruvand

Trustee (3 Seats):
Steve Dress
Alex Iles
Bonnie Janofsky
Phil O’Connor

Director (6 Seats Unopposed):
Allison Allport
Marcus Eley
Pam Gates
Lynn Grants
Aaron Smith
Meredith Snow

Hearing Board (7 Seats Unopposed):
Scott Higgins
Marisa McLeod
Allen Savedoff
Byron Sleugh

Delegate to the AFM Convention (3 Seats):
Allison Allport
Bonnie Janofsky
Phil O’Connor
Meredith Snow

1st Alternate Delegate to the AFM Convention (1 Seat Unopposed):
Steve Dress

2nd Alternate Delegate to the AFM Convention (1 Seat Unopposed):
Pam Gates

* Candidacy eligibility of nominees named here are subject to final verification as per Local 47 Bylaws Article IX, Sections 2, 5, 6 and 7. The official list of candidates for the Local 47 General Election as approved by the Election Board will be published in the Election “Special Edition” issue of Overture to be published in November.

The actual number of Local 47 AFM Convention Delegates allowed for the 2026 AFM Convention is determined by the number of members of the Local as of December 31, 2025 (AFM Federation Bylaws Article 17, Sections 4(a) and 4(d)).

Policy Governing Eligibility to Vote

1. All Local 47 members who are in good standing as of 4:45 p.m. (close of business) on December 8, 2025 — the last business day prior to the General Election — are eligible to cast a ballot. However, members are encouraged to be in good standing well in advance of this deadline.

2. Any Local 47 member who has been suspended or expelled for the non-payment of dues, or wishing to reinstate within one year of resignation, shall have until 4:45 p.m. on December 8, 2025 by which to clear the delinquency and return to full good-standing status in order to be eligible to cast a ballot.

3. New members, or those rejoining after having resigned or been expelled more than one year ago, must complete and submit a membership application and membership dues payment no later than December 1, 2025 by 4:45 p.m., so that their membership may be approved at the Local 47 Executive Board meeting the Tuesday prior to the General Election. All applicable fees apply. (Note: The Local reserves the right to refer applications of all persons seeking reinstatement from resignation to the International Executive Board per Article 9, Section 19 of the Federation’s Bylaws.)

4. Life Members in good standing may vote in the Local 47 General Election. Inactive Life Members, who pay a reduced membership fee, are not eligible to vote per Local 47 Bylaws. Inactive Life Members wishing to vote may do so by changing their membership status to Life Member by contacting the Membership Department at 323.993.3116 and completing the process by 4:45 p.m. on December 8, 2025. All applicable fees apply.

Casting Votes

Members in good standing may vote on-site Tuesday, December 9, 2025 or by absentee mail-in ballot. Each member in good standing may cast votes for as many candidates in each category as there are positions to be filled. The member may choose to cast votes for fewer candidates than there are positions to be filled, but not for more, and should more than the allowed number of votes be marked for any category, that portion of the ballot shall be deemed invalid.

On-Site Voting

On Election Day — Tuesday, December 9, 2025 — Local 47 headquarters will be open for members in good standing to cast their ballot between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. at 3220 Winona Ave., Burbank CA 91504. Please be advised that the wearing of campaign buttons, stickers or other campaign apparel; the distribution of campaign literature; conversations/discussions about candidates or an election campaign; and electioneering are NOT permitted on-site at Local 47 at any time.

Vote By Mail Absentee Voting

Instead of going to the polls on Election Day, you may vote using the vote-by-mail absentee ballot. Any member may request an absentee ballot by submitting the official request form to the California Elections Company via mail, email, or fax.

Vote by Mail form Click Here to print/download form

After you receive your absentee ballot and have completed it, return your vote-by-mail absentee ballot ASAP by mailing it in the return envelope provided (DO NOT SEND TO AFM LOCAL 47; the Local is not permitted to accept, forward, or otherwise handle any ballots). When your vote-by-mail absentee ballot is received by the Post Office, it will remain in the P.O. Box until the Election Day when it is picked up by the election board and election company at 9 a.m. To preserve the secrecy of your ballot, the election company shall verify the absentee ballot and place it in a sealed ballot box to be counted with the other ballots cast.

Once the request form is received by the California Elections Company, absentee ballots will be mailed to members beginning October 22, 2025. After this date, if you do not receive your voting packet within 10 days of your request, please contact the Election Board.

Vote-by-mail absentee ballots received at the post office after 9 a.m. on the Election Day or cast in violation of instructions in accordance with Local 47 Bylaws shall be null and void.

Prohibited Campaigning Directive

The use of Local 47 resources, or the resources of ANY other union or employer — whether hiring musicians or not — by any candidate or member, for the purpose of campaigning for or against any candidate for office in the Local 47 election, is prohibited by the Local’s Bylaws and is also a violation of Federal Law. This prohibition includes the use of facilities, equipment or property (including telephones, stamps and stamp machines, computers, copying machines, and any other equipment or materials), official endorsements, use of union logos and/or letterhead, and any campaign activity done on paid time. Additionally, members are barred by Article IX, Section 13 of the Local 47 Bylaws from collecting nominating petition signatures while on Local 47’s premises. Further, members are prohibited from campaigning at any time while on Local 47’s premises.

However, obtaining signatures on public property (i.e., sidewalks surrounding the Local’s property or off-site locations) IS permissible, as long as those collecting signatures and the members are using unpaid time (e.g., before or after work for any union or employer, or while on an unpaid break). Nothing in the Bylaws prohibits friends/family of a candidate from soliciting signatures on nominating petitions provided they abide by all the rules listed above.

Electronic Communications Policy

Following the intent of Article IX, Section 12, of the AFM Local 47 Bylaws, it shall be a matter of policy that the rules and restrictions as outlined in said Bylaw shall also apply to all electronic communications published by Local 47, including Overture, the Local 47 website (afm47.org), the Local 47 email newsletter “The Local 47 Beat,” any special notices sent by Local 47 via email blast, and all associated social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, etc.).

Eligibility for Office

To be nominated for any office a member must have been in continuous good standing for a period of 365 calendar days immediately preceding October 1 in any election year. To hold any office, a member must have been in continuous good standing for the period of 365 days immediately preceding the scheduled date of installation of office at the Inaugural Meeting on January 13, 2026. It is possible that a member may have been suspended during the prior 365 days and not know — for example, late payment of dues. No member shall hold nor accept nomination for more than one office, although they may additionally accept nomination for and hold the position of Delegate or Alternate Delegate. However, members nominated for the offices of President, Vice President, or Secretary/Treasurer shall not be eligible to accept separate nomination for Delegate or Alternate Delegate. Further, candidates for President, Vice President, or Secretary/Treasurer, because those officers are automatically Delegates, shall not appear separately on the ballot as Delegate (see Bylaw Article IX, Section 2).

Questions?

Should you have any questions about the election please contact a member of the Election Board. Only members of the Election Board — no Local 47 officers or staff members — are authorized to answer any questions concerning the election.

Local 47 Election Board:
Paul Castillo (Chair): pcklar@earthlink.net
Helen Crosby: midlfdl@earthlink.net
Gerardo Guzman: dj@camusicgroup.com
Kris Mettala: krmettala@yahoo.com
Nancy Roth: concertnancer@yahoo.com
Clifford Tasner: taztunes@adelphia.net
Marcy Vaj: marcy.vaj@gmail.com

To review the Local 47 Bylaws, you may access them in the members-only section of the Local 47 website, ensemble.afm47.org (click the “Documents” button), or contact the Secretary/Treasurer’s Office at st_sec@afm47.org or 323.993.3159 to request a hard copy. (If you have not yet logged in to our new system, please click here for instructions.)