It's Time to Put on Your Fedora and Step Up to the Table

Election Day has come and gone in the U.S. — though it will likely linger in the memory for quite some time — but that doesn't mean that all the electing there is to do has been done. No, another election is upon us: the December 2008 election for the Fedora Project has begun!

Like many Open Source projects, the Fedora Project — the community group behind Fedora Linux, from which Red Hat Enterprise Linux is drawn — is directed by a Board made up of community members and project leaders. Specifically, the Board is composed of five members elected by the Fedora community, four appointed by Red Hat — which retains responsibility for and final approval over the project's doings — and a chairman, known as the Fedora Project Leader, who is appointed by Red Hat and who holds veto power — presumably infrequently used — over all Board decisions. Two of the five community seats are up for grabs in this round of elections, those held by Matt Domsch of Dell and Jef Spaleta of the University of Alaska Fairbanks — the Board will also gain two new appointed members, as the seats held by Bill Nottingham and Karsten Wade will be up for re-appointment.

The Project Board isn't the only Fedora group holding an election, however — the project's Ambassadors Steering Committee, Engineering Steering Committee, and Localization Steering Committee are all up for complete re-election this cycle. Additionally, the project is hoping to also vote on the release name for Fedora 11, though it appears that won't take place until January.

Nominations opened on October 28 — though the announcement didn't make it out until today — and will continue through December 3rd on the respective group's nomination page. Nominees — who may self-nominate — must be in the Fedora Account System, and must have completed an Individual Contributor License Agreement — the same criteria apply for voter eligibility. There will be "IRC Town Hall" meetings with the candidates December 4th – 6th, with the elections to follow, running December 7th – 20th.

Election Coordinator Matt Domsch in his own words: "Please thoughtfully consider how you can best contribute to Fedora by serving on one of these important committees. The world is watching!"