January 29, 2025 by Jeff Knox

Tombstone, Arizona – Ballots for the 2025 NRA Director election are arriving now, with voting open through March. In total, 28 seats are up for election, with about 50 people vying for those seats, including 2 write-in candidates. Those 28 seats represent slightly more than one-third of the 76-member Board, and this election has the potential to give “reformers” on the Board an overwhelming majority going forward.

In years past, I have recommended “Bullet Voting” in NRA elections, but that was when the reformers were an insurgency movement running one or two candidates against an entrenched establishment.

This year is very different as the reformers are the establishment, so this year, I am recommending that every eligible voter cast votes for a full slate of 28 candidates.

The easy, no fuss way to accomplish this is to look for the two-page ad in the middle of the magazine talking about NRA 2.0 Values and just vote for the people listed in that ad, including two write-in candidates to add on the back of the ballot.

Another simple – though admittedly not perfect – approach would be to find the ad featuring Bob Barr and just vote for anyone other than the incumbents featured in that ad.

My basic rational for my personal selections is as follows:

1. Do NOT vote for anyone who was on the Board and silent during the abuses of Wayne LaPierre and the subsequent legal mess. As a Director, it was his or her job to know what was going on and act in the members’ best interests.
2. Prioritize voting for NEW candidates.
3. Vote for 28 candidates – no more and no less! More than 28 invalidates your entire ballot. [that count must include write-in votes]
   

That’s it. The rest of this article provides more details and names, but following any of the above processes will result in a good, solid board working for our members.

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Last year, 4 of us were overwhelmingly elected to the Board as vocal reformers. To everyone’s surprise, the 4 of us were joined by about 30 additional Directors who supported our efforts. That resulted in a loose-knit coalition of “reformers” successfully electing a new 1st VP, a new 2nd VP, and a new Executive VP/CEO. We fell short in our efforts to put a “reformer” in the President’s chair, but what we did accomplish was significant.

There are only 4 candidates on this year’s ballot who I strongly oppose for reelection due to their history of supporting and defending Wayne LaPierre, and for opposing efforts to dissolve the Special Litigation Committee and divorce the Association from the Brewer law firm.

Those 4 are Bob Barr, Sandy Froman, Tom King, and Joel Friedman.

This is not some sort of personal vendetta. I know and get along well with all of them, but I strongly disagree with their recent positions and their roles in the failures of the past 20-plus years. These four have teamed up with a dozen other candidates to run as a team. They have an ad in the ballot issue of NRA magazines and have put up a website at www.StrongNRA.com where they list their candidates and provide more information.

The safe bet is to simply avoid giving anyone listed in that ad or on that website your vote. Along with the four mentioned above, the “Strong NRA” team includes long-time Directors John Sigler, Ron Schmeits, Dwight Van Horn, Larry Craig, and Carol Frampton, who have all served on the Board for decades and all failed to carry out their fiduciary duty to take action to fix the problems that were clearly evident years ago. They’ve also gone along with attempts to sweep those problems under the rug. Blaine Wade, Isaac Demarest, and Danny Stowers have not been on the Board as long as the others but tend to vote along “party lines,” supporting the efforts of Mr. Barr and Mr. Cotton while opposing the proposals of reformers.

There are also four new nominees listed on the “Strong NRA” site, all with impressive résumés and credentials. I have nothing against any of them, but their alignment with the others on that list makes it very difficult to trust them. If you have carefully gone through all of the candidates and can’t find a full 28 [or write in] that you have confidence in, you might consider giving one or two of these new candidates from the “other team” a vote.

It’s important to know that among the candidates listed above, Ms. Froman, Mr. Sigler, and Mr. Schmeits are all members of the Executive Council, a special group of mostly past presidents who are automatically members of the Board for all purposes except voting. There’s a good chance that current president Barr will also be inducted into this group, whether he wins reelection to the Board or not. This means these folks will still be at Board meetings, will still be able to argue questions and introduce motions and resolutions from the floor, and will still be able to hold sway over their friends and protegés on the Board.

On the other side of the aisle is the slate put forward by the ad hoc “reform” group. They, too, have an ad in the Ballot issue of the magazines and a website, www.ElectaNewNRA.com, with their list of a full slate of 28 candidates they recommend. I wish I could encourage NRA voters to vote for all 28 of their candidates, but I can’t do that in good conscience. There are a couple on their list who have histories that I simply can’t overlook. More on that follows.

NRA Board Candidate Endorsements

My policy has always been to favor new candidates over incumbents, especially long-term incumbents, and I continue with that policy this year, with the caveat that there are some incumbents who have only been on the Board for a short time and other longer-term incumbents who have fully repented and embraced the reform agenda. Don’t completely dismiss a candidate just because he or she might be an incumbent or was nominated by the Nominating Committee. Look at voting records and alliances to get a better idea as to whether you want to support them. I encourage anyone interested in the background of the candidates to dig into their information at both of the websites linked above.

As I said, I’m not endorsing the full ElectaNewNRA “reformer” slate. A couple have too much negative history, and a few others have shorter but somewhat dubious records. I’m not saying you shouldn’t vote for any of those folks; I’m just not giving them my personal endorsement.

All of that said, here are the new candidates who I endorse:

• Frank Tait
• John Richardson
• Knox Williams (No relation)
• Jason Wilson
• Theresa Inacker
• Mark Shuell (Not on the “NRA 2.0” list, but should have been.)
• Todd Vandermyde (Who I don’t always agree with, but who brings much to the table.

Those I don’t know personally but who I’m endorsing on the recommendation of others are:

• Jack Hagan
• Howard Massingil, Jr.
• James A. Sheckels
• James Fotis
• Jonathan Goldstien
• Phillip Gray
• Regis Synan
• Richard Fairburn
• Robert Scott Emslie
• David Mitten
• Richard Todd Figard, and
• Charles Brown (Dayton, OH – Write-In)

Those are all of the new candidates I know enough about to recommend. That leaves 9 more seats to fill from among the other new candidates and the incumbents.

The incumbents on the “NRA 2.0” list I’m endorsing are:

• Al Hammond
• Charles Hiltunen
• Cathy Wright

I have worked with and been impressed by them. I’m also giving my endorsement number-23 spot to Mitzy McCorvey, whom I don’t know well but seems to have her head in the game. All four of these have been new to the Board since 2022.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. The remaining incumbents on the NRA 2.0 list are people who have been on the Board for more than one term. I consider some of them to be friends, and they have all been supportive of our reform agenda, but I’m not prepared to give them my personal endorsement. I hope they don’t take offense at this decision, but the issue is about not speaking up when they had the opportunity.

They are:

• Anthony Colandro
• Paul Babaz
• Jim Wallace
• Todd Ellis.

All four have been on the Board for 4 to 6 years, a little over one term, and none of them caught my attention for actively pushing reform during that time. That’s all. Maybe I missed something along the way, but these guys simply didn’t earn my endorsement. All have been working with reformers since 2024, and if you choose to reelect them, I’m sure they will continue to work toward a stronger and more effective NRA. While I won’t endorse them, I encourage you to consider giving them your vote. Experience on the Board does count for something, and I know I can work with these guys.

Please note that Paul Babaz is a write-in candidate, so if you want to give him a vote, you must write his name and “Atlanta, GA” on the back of the ballot in the space provided.

The last two incumbents on the reformer list are a different story. Both of them have been staunch advocates of reform since the 2024 election, working with me and other reformers and voting right on important issues, but they both also come with history that I cannot overlook.

Jim Porter is a past President, a member of the Executive Council, and has been on the Board since 1989. He and I have disagreed pretty consistently for his entire time on the Board, until last year when he came out strongly against some of the activities of the “Old Guard.” Since then, he’s been a staunch advocate for reform and a helpful ally. If he’s reelected, I’m confident he will continue working toward reform, but I’ll not ask anyone to vote for him.

Similarly, I get along well with Willes Lee, who was first elected to the Board in 2016 or ’17 and rose quickly through the chairs. Willes was a vice president and member of the Special Litigation Committee during the bankruptcy, and he was in line to become president in 2023 when he started refusing to go along with the Old Guard agenda. That’s when Cotton and company bumped him from the chairs.

I believe he has truly seen the light, but I can’t overlook his history during the LaPierre regime, so I can’t give him an endorsement.

That makes 22 “Knox endorsed” candidates from the “NRA 2.0” list and one (Mark Shuell) from among the unaffiliated new folks, to bring my total to 23.

These are the folks I’m personally voting for, but we’re still short 5 candidates, so I will be voting for the 5 that I think will do the best job from among the short-term incumbents on the “NRA 2.0” list, the unaffiliated candidates, and even the “Strong NRA” list. The incumbents I’ll consider are Anthony Colandro, Paul Babaz, Jim Wallace, and Todd Ellis. The unaffiliated candidates I’m considering are Greer Johnson, Lane Ruhland, Lucretia Hughes Klucken, and Gene Roach. I’m also giving serious consideration to the four candidates endorsed by the “Strong NRA” group, particularly Charles Rowe and Lawrence Finder. They all appear to be excellent candidates, in spite of the “Old Guard” endorsement. My only concern is regarding whose advice and counsel they will be listening to if they’re elected.

These last five choices are still open in my mind, but I’ll make my picks shortly after I get my ballot, and then I’ll mail it in. I encourage you to do the same. Pick the candidates you think will do the best job, and don’t delay marking your ballot and getting it in the mail.

Warning

It’s all too easy to set the magazine aside with the intention of getting back to it later and never finding it again.

In the meantime, if you disagree with some of my picks or reasoning, or if you have particular candidates you want to promote, please leave a comment below.

This will be about the 45th time I’ve voted in NRA elections and will be the first time I will be voting for a full slate of candidates. It’s so much easier to cherry-pick one or two, but please don’t succumb to that inclination. Make every vote deliberate, as if your ballot were the only one being counted. Leaving your ballot unfinished just means you’re letting others fill that chair for you, and those others might not understand why longtime incumbent Directors, including current and past officers, should be put out to pasture. Don’t leave the gate open. Be sure to go back and count your votes, though, because marking 29 [including write-ins with that count] will invalidate your entire ballot. Vote for 28 – no more and no less – and do it as soon as you get your ballot. Don’t wait until you have to go look for that magazine in the recycle bin days before the due date.

I’m confident that the NRA Board will continue to improve regardless of how this election goes. With it, NRA programs, membership, and strength will also improve. There is work to be done, but I believe we’re on a good path with good people at the helm.

I’ll be in Atlanta for the Annual Meetings and Exhibits April 24-27. I plan to spend a lot of time at the NRA booth on the show floor, so please stop by and say “Hi.” Hope to see you there.

[Note: There is a question on the ballot regarding amending the NRA’s Certificate of Incorporation.  This is a housekeeping measure to bring NRA’s legal status in NY into line with it’s status federally.  I encourage a YES vote on this proposal.]