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Melissa-Malcolm King Seeks Election as Affirmation President, Nominates Vice Presidents

Melissa-Malcolm King (Center), Francisco Ruiz (Left), and Kate Mower (Right)
Melissa-Malcolm King (Center), Francisco Ruiz (Left), and Kate Mower (Right)

by Affirmation

October 11, 2022

The Affirmation Charter & Bylaws require the election of a president every two years and allow a president to run for a second term. On September 7, a call for candidates and a timeline for the election were published on the Affirmation website, emailed to Affirmation subscribers, and posted to Affirmation’s primary social media channels. October 7 was the deadline for candidates to submit statements of candidacy to be included in the election.

Melissa-Malcolm King, currently a member of the board of directors and former president of the Affirmation Midwest Region, was the only candidate to submit a statement by the October 7 deadline. They have nominated fellow board members Francisco Ruiz and Kate Mower to serve as senior vice president and vice president, respectively. Once elected by the membership of Affirmation, the board of directors is responsible for ratifying these nominations. If ratified, Melissa, Francisco, and Kate will become the new Affirmation Executive Committee on January 1, 2023.

The election will open on November 8 and close on November 22. Only voting members of Affirmation on November 7 will have ballots emailed to them. Voting membership status will be communicated to Affirmation community members soon.

Statement from Melissa-Malcolm King

In declaring their candidacy, Melissa-Malcolm King submitted the following statement.

As a leader for Affirmation LGBTQ Mormons Families and Friends, I have had the opportunity to serve in various capacities for over five years, including as a current board member. As a potential candidate for Affirmation President, my campaign will focus on creating a broader opportunity to increase leadership development among marginalized groups, raising awareness and education for intersectional experiences, with a focus on supporting transgender, BIPOC, and disabled individuals. Members will find a place in Affirmation to land and continue to soar as leaders and fierce social justice advocates with ongoing training opportunities and professional development. Consequently, they will work alongside other community advocacy groups to increase access to new members and fundraising connections to support this initiative.

With this focus, I, Melissa Malcolm King (she, they), formally declare my intention to run as President of Affirmation LGBTQ Mormons, Families, and Friends for the 2022 election with Francisco J. Ruiz as Senior Vice President and Kate Mower as Vice-President. Since 2005, Francisco Ruiz (he, him) has worked diligently to support community service organizations, including as a fierce leader in Affirmation as a board member and emeritus vice-president, thereby increasing visibility for the Latin American chapters. His professional passions include leadership training, providing resources for individuals with low-income, marginalized communities, and focusing on continually serving Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Kate Mower (she, he, they) has worked extensively within the Affirmation Los Angeles Chapter and Continental Europe Region since 2019. They are a graduate student in Romania supporting local LGBTQ+ organizations to foster equity and inclusion. Additionally, Kate hosts a weekly podcast entitled “Called to Queer” that further gives voice to the issues facing individuals at the intersection of being a gender minority and queer.

Affirmation has always been a refuge for me as I navigated my spiritual journey and my various intersections being queer, intersex, disabled, and a person of color. Being a member of Affirmation has saved my life and, in turn, the lives of countless others. For this reason, I am eager and excited to begin the candidacy process and, together with Francisco and Kate, further create a space where all can land, heal and be authentic.

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