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ABFM members who are also members of our parent organization, the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), can participate in elections for ASPA’s National Council. This year, there are two candidates for President-Elect: RIchard Greggory Johnson, III (University of San Francisco), and Patria de Lancer Julnes (Baruch College, City University of New York). Both candidates have provided brief candidate statements for our information, and those statements are provided below.

Voting for President-Elect as well as District Representatives to the National Council will begin the second week in November. If you want to petition to have your names added to this year’s ballot, contact ASPA staff <pcarlisle@aspanet.org> for more details on the process and requirements. The petition period will remain open until Friday, November 6.

More information and the full slate of candidates can be found at https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/About-ASPA/National-Council-Elections/ASPA/About-ASPA/National-Council-Elections/National-Council-Elections.aspx

Here are the candidate statements from Dr. Johnson and Dr. de Lancer Julnes:

=======================Candidate Statement==========================

My name is Richard Greggory Johnson III and I became involved with ASPA first as an MPA student at DePaul University during 1989. It was here that I learned the value of public service. I later attended Golden Gate University for doctoral studies in 1991 where former ASPA President Dr. Randy Hamilton (1975 to 1976) served as Dean for the School of Public Affairs. My interest in public administration grew at GGU and my strong interest in the field developed.

During the subsequent years I was minimally involved with ASPA while I started my career. However, it was not until I started teaching at the University of Vermont that I really got involved with ASPA. Vermont had a small chapter of ASPA during that time. However, we were mighty. Meeting to discuss public administration matters and hosting dinners was about all that our chapter could handle. Still, for years I and the other members of the Vermont ASPA Chapter were stewards of the organization. Still in my development as a newly minted Assistant Professor at UVM, it was there that I began to attend ASPA conferences in 2005. It was at this conference that I heard then George Washington University Assistant Professor Lori A. Brainard say during a panel discussion that she “had something to say.” This is why she became a faculty member in our field. I was blown away by Lori’s words then as I still am today. I too became a Professor of Public Administration because as a Social Equity Scholar I too have something to say. In fact, quoting from Barbara Jordan’s 1974 Nixon impeachment speech, “I am an inquisitor” and therefore, I take pride in having been a participant in ASPA as opposed to just a spectator.

I have been constantly involved with ASPA during the last almost twenty years of membership in the organization. I have served in many roles including; Chair, Social Equity Leadership Conference (2016), Democracy and Social Justice past Chair; Public Integrity Symposium Guest Editor; PAR Symposium Co-Guest Editor and President Elect of the San Francisco Bay Area ASPA Chapter. I have only missed one ASPA conference from 2003 to 2019 (I was a 2011 Fulbright Hong Kong and missed ASPA that year). At each conference I presented papers, served on panels and did hours of committee work.

As President Elect of ASPA I would bring to the position a strong administrative skillset from twenty years of higher education administration and community engagement. I also have studied leadership for the last thirty years and consider myself a Servant Leader who understands organization change. Finally, I would bring to the position a great sense of vision, enthusiasm and understanding of how emerging technologies will assist in positioning ASPA as a global leader in public service.

Richard Greggory Johnson III
Chairperson & Professor of Public Administration
School of Management/University of San Francisco

=======================Candidate Statement==========================

I have a life-long commitment to ASPA, as do you, and I am asking for your support in electing me as ASPA’s next Vice President. We will work together in guiding ASPA through these extraordinary times and securing its future as the most important go-to professional association for learning, networking, and collaborating in the public service arena. For this, we need to ensure that students, practitioners, and academics can continue to count on ASPA as the place where they come together to address vexing questions that have confronted each generation of public administration practitioners and scholars since ASPA’s beginning in 1939.

I care about ASPA largely because I care deeply about the values that set ASPA apart as an organization dedicated to public service. In ASPA, I have been surrounded by many ASPA members who share my commitment to advocating for effectiveness in government, stewardship of our natural and financial resources, professionalism, and social justice in the United States and worldwide. My colleagues can speak to my experience—as an educator and consultant on domestic and international projects, as president of the Hispanic Leaders Association, as Board member of the Inter-American Network of Public Administration Education, and as a leader or co-leader of many of ASPA’s initiatives and committees —as preparing me for the important role of ASPA President. Together, we can achieve so much:

  • Advance ASPA’s tradition of promoting the public interest through reflective and inclusive public service.
    Secure ASPA’s long term financial sustainability.
    Create new opportunities for collaboration and networking for all our members.
  • It would be my distinct honor and privilege to have your vote for President-Elect and to work with you toward our collective goals for ASPA. Please reach out to me with any questions or suggestions you may have.

Patria de Lancer Julnes, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Professor
City University of New York, CUNY