Notice of FINRA Regional Committee Elections and Mailing of Ballots

Executive Summary

The purpose of this Election Notice is to notify firms of the upcoming elections to fill vacancies on the FINRA Regional Committees, and the mailing of ballots to eligible firms.

As detailed below, the following seats are contested:

• Midwest Region Committee, District 4 representative
• Midwest Region Committee, District 8 representative
• New York Region Committee, District 10 representative
• North Region Committee, District 9 representative
• South Region Committee, District 6 representative
• South Region Committee, District 7 representative
• West Region Committee, District 2 representative
• West Region Committee, District 3 representative

Therefore, firms that were FINRA members in the districts listed above as of the close of business on Friday, October 20, 2023, are eligible to vote for the contested seats, and these will be the only firms receiving ballots.

Ballots are due by Wednesday, November 22, 2023.

The candidates running for election for contested seats are listed in Attachment A. The candidates for the uncontested seats are listed in Attachment B. Additional information about all candidates is available at: https://www.finra.org/notices/RegionalElection/CandidateProfiles.

Questions concerning this Election Notice may be directed to:

• Jennifer Piorko Mitchell, Vice President and Deputy Corporate Secretary, at Corporate Secretary or (202) 728-8949; or
• Kayte Toczylowski, Vice President, Member Relations and Education, at Member Relations or (215) 209-7087.  

Background and Composition of Regional Committees

FINRA’s Regional Committees serve an important role in the self-regulatory process by, among other things, alerting FINRA to industry trends that could present regulatory concerns, and consulting with FINRA on proposed policies and rule changes. Regional Committee members may also serve on disciplinary panels in accordance with FINRA rules.

Each Regional Committee has six elected members from each district within that committee’s region. Regional Committees representing three districts (i.e., the South and West Regions) have 18 members, and Regional Committees representing one or two districts (i.e., New York, Midwest and North Regions) have 12 members.

The five Regional Committees and the districts each represents are:

• Midwest Region Committee – Comprises Districts 4 and 8, representing Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin
• New York Region Committee – Comprises District 10, representing New York (Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the Bronx, Brooklyn, New York County, Queens and Staten Island)
• North Region Committee – Comprises Districts 9 and 11, representing Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York (except for the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, and the five boroughs of New York City), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia
• South Region Committee – Comprises Districts 5, 6 and 7, representing Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Panama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and the Virgin Islands
• West Region Committee – Comprises Districts 1, 2 and 3, representing Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and the former U.S. Trust Territories

Candidate Nomination Process and Eligibility

All individuals who submitted their names and met the qualifications set forth in Article VIII, Section 8.2 of the FINRA Regulation By-Laws were certified as a candidate for their district’s election.

Terms & Vacancies

Regional Committees for the South and West Regions each have six vacancies, and the Midwest, North and New York Regions each have four vacancies to fill. Below is a list of the vacancies and which regions/districts are contested, uncontested or have no candidates.

Midwest Region Committee – Four Vacancies:

• District 4 – Two Representatives (contested)
• District 8 – Two Representatives (contested)

New York Region Committee – Four Vacancies:

• District 10 – Four Representatives (contested)

North Region Committee – Four Vacancies:

• District 9 – Two Representatives (contested)
• District 11 – Two Representatives (uncontested)

South Region Committee – Six Vacancies:

• District 5 – Two Representatives (uncontested)
• District 6 – Two Representatives (contested)
• District 7 – Two Representatives (contested)

West Region Committee – Six Vacancies:

• District 1 – Two Representatives (no candidates)
• District 2 – Two Representatives (contested)
• District 3 – Two Representatives (contested)

The full term for a Regional Committee member is three years. Therefore, the successful candidates, the individuals in the uncontested seats and the individuals appointed to fill seats with no self-nominated candidates will serve three-year terms starting on January 1, 2024, and expiring December 31, 2026.

There is no limit on the number of terms a Regional Committee member may serve, except that Regional Committee members may not serve more than two full terms consecutively. Terms of Regional Committee members will terminate if they do not remain eligible for the seat for which they were elected.

Voting Eligibility

Districts 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 have contested elections; therefore, firms in those districts that were members of FINRA as of the close of business on Friday, October 20, 2023, are eligible to vote for candidates in their respective districts. The candidates for these contested seats are listed in Attachment A.

(Ballots will not be distributed for the uncontested elections where the candidates are running unopposed or for which no candidates self-nominated. The candidates for uncontested seats are listed in Attachment B.)

Voting Methods

The Executive Representative¹ of each eligible firm can vote by telephone, internet or U.S. mail. Voting instructions are included in the email sent on October 23, 2023, from [email protected] and on the hard copies of the ballots that will be mailed to eligible firms later this week.  

Voting concludes on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.