2023 WGAE Council Election: Candidates Announced
NEW YORK, NY (August 1, 2023) – The Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is the governing body of the Guild and consists of 20 Council members: twelve (12) Film/TV/Streaming Council members, five (5) Online Media Council members and three (3) Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News Council members), plus five (5) officers: President, Secretary-Treasurer, and three (3) Vice Presidents, one from each work sector.
Film/TV/Streaming members work in screen, television, and new media; Online Media members work in digital news shops; Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News members work in traditional broadcast and cable news shops and newer streaming shops, all in positions under the Guild’s jurisdiction.
The 2023 WGAE election will include the following open positions: President; Secretary-Treasurer; Vice President of Film/TV/Streaming; six (6) Film/TV/Streaming Council seats; and three (3) Online Media Council seats. There are no open seats in Broadcast/Cable/Streaming News.
Current-Active members of the WGAE may vote online or by mail beginning at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Members may vote only for the Council and Vice President candidates within their own work sector. Members in all sectors may vote for the President and Secretary-Treasurer candidates.
Current-Active members may vote in person on September 21, 2023 at 4:30 pm at the WGAE office. Voting closes at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Candidates elected to Council will serve a two-year term beginning Friday, September 22, 2023.
Candidates for Officer seats
The one (1) candidate for the one (1) President seat is:
The one (1) candidate for the one (1) Secretary-Treasurer seat:
The one (1) candidate for the one (1) Vice President seat in the Film/TV/Streaming work sector is:
Candidates for Council seats*
The thirteen (13) candidates for the six (6) Council seats in the Film/TV/Streaming work sector are:
- Sasha Stewart (i)
- David Angelo
- Liz Hynes (i)
- Ian Olympio
- Sarah Montana
- Sofia Alvarez
- Zhubin Parang
- Beanie Barnes
- Hallie Haglund
- Nick Bernardone
- Benjamin Rosenblum (i)
- Greg Iwinski (i)
- Josh Gondelman (i)
The four (4) candidates for the three (3) Council seats in the Online Media work sector are:
- Sie Morley
- Samantha Smylie
- David Lumb
- Caitlin Cruz (i)
*The order of listing candidates is determined by a drawing of candidates’ names by lot, conducted by two Guild members with a WGAE staff member acting as witness.
*(i) denotes incumbent
ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, EAST
The Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, broadcast and streaming news, podcasts, and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit wgaeast.org.
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