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Add TAG leadership election governance template #1195

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# Leadership election process within the `<TAG NAME>`

*tbd* - contributions are welcome!
<!--
This file is a template which can be used by TAGs to bootstrap their governance structure.
Please review this file carefully and make adjustments to better fit your TAG where needed.
-->

The TAG leadership as well as the leadership of working groups or projects follows a common set of rules to ensure a transparent, open and accessible role transition between contributors.
Contributors in leadership positions provide guidance and directions to TAG members and ensure that the efforts are in line with its mission and values, as well as the goals of the TAG.
Roles within the TAG outlining expectations and responsibilities are defined in the [roles](template-roles.md) governance document. <!-- ! UPDATE THE LINK ! -->

## Process of nominations

Leadership roles are open to all interested participants within the community. Depending on the needs of the community, as determined by the current TAG leadership team (Chairs and TLs), nominations may come from working group co-chairs, TAG co-chairs and/or tech leads and/or other community members. Each leadership role is on a 2 year term once appointed.

Elections should be conducted by CNCF staff. TAG leadership Election should start 1-2 months after the TOC election finishes each year, pending CNCF staff’s availability to run the elections.

For the immediate election in 2025, roughly 50% of the roles should be made available for election where existing leaders can choose to rerun, starting with the longest serving leaders. The rest of the leads who are not up for election should plan to be up for elections in 2026.

co-chairs can be nominated by any existing co-chairs or TOC member. TL roles should be nominated by any existing co-chairs or TLs. WG leads can be nominated by any TAG leaders. TAGs may define their own process by which they field nominations for these roles, provided they adhere to CNCF and TOC expectations of openness, transparency, and accountability.

Co-chair elections should be voted on by the TOC. Other TAG leads elections should be voted by TAG co-chairs, TLs, WG leads or other active contributors of the TAG.

The process of endorsing and selecting individuals will consider the following factors to ensure both the need for proper community representation and the necessary technical expertise: <!-- If the TAG has any additional items, such as leading a minimum number of projects, or facilitating a number meetings, they should be added to this list under "Body of work" -->

* Gender diversity
* Company diversity
* Geo diversity
* Number of nominations from different companies, people, regions for a single individual
* Existing body of work
* Justification provided during nomination

In case there are no individuals expressing interest in taking up leadership positions, an evaluation process for the TAG / working group or project archival may be initiated, as [outlined by the TOC](https://github.com/cncf/toc/blob/main/tags/cncf-tags.md#retirement).

### Leadership election timeline

* **TAG Chair**:
* Start: CNCF staff initiates election 1-2 months after the TOC election.
* ominations: Open for 1-2 months. Co-chairs or TOC members can nominate.
* Vote: TOC votes.
* **TAG TL**:
* Start: TAG co-chairs initiate election after the end of the current term.
* Nominations: Open for 1-2 months. Co-chairs or TLs can nominate.
* Vote: TAG co-chairs, TLs, WG leads, or other active members of the TAG vote.
* **Working Group Chairs and Leads (WG Chairs, WG TLs)**:
* Start: TAG co-chairs initiate election after the end of the current term.
* Nominations: Open for 1-2 months. TAG co-chairs, TLs, WG leads or other active contributors to the TAG can nominate.
* Vote: TAG co-chairs, TLs, WG leads, or other active members of the TAG vote.

* **Subsequent Steps for Any Role**:
* Announcement: Communicate the result of the election to the community.
* Update Resources: Update TAG meeting notes, README files, websites, [repository access](https://github.com/cncf/people/blob/main/config.yaml), and reach out to CNCF staff to share email, Google Drive, and YouTube access if needed.
* Emeritus: Add the outgoing community leader to the emeritus list and update documents and resources accordingly.

### Submitting a nomination

Nominations are to be submitted to [TAG Co-Chair's email alias](mailto:[email protected]) with the details: <!-- ! UPDATE EMAIL with the TAG's Leadership's correct mailing list ! -->

* Subject "NOMINATION $(TAG Chair, TAG TL, WG XYZ Chair): $NAME-OF-NOMINEE"
* CC the nominee
* Justification
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* Nominee Biography

### Vacancies

In the event that a TAG lead vacates their seat during their term, a by-election shall be conducted to fill the position for the remainder of the term in accordance with the regular election procedure.
The TAG co-chairs may initiate a vote of no confidence in a TAG leader when the TAG leader has not performed any TAG leader tasks for 6 months. The leader shall be removed if the motion is approved by at least sixty percent (60%) of the TAG leaders along with the approval support from all of the TOC Liaisons for the TAG.

## Nomination requirements

The `<TAG NAME>` recognizes and values the achievements of individuals who have proven themselves in this community.
If a given nominee does not meet all the requirements, the TAG leadership will still review the nomination and justification to determine if enough intent and commitment is present to move forward with an endorsement.

**Nominees must**:

* Be the author of at least one pull request against the `<TAG NAME>` repository
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A quick question: What is the purpose of calling this out versus making it part of the list below? It seems to already be somewhat related to the commenting on PRs, etc. issue below.

Is the author of a PR the person who created it? Is any person who did a lot of the work on it an author? What about someone who reviewed and commented heavily on it? Do all PRs regardless of length / purpose / complexity count the same here?

I know this is all subjective and I'm not proposing to define all the corner cases. I'd actually prefer to make this less specific and less emphasized. My concern is that I don't want someone with imposter syndrome who has been a great contributor, but who didn't create a PR to feel like their application shouldn't be put forth.

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These are good points @JustinCappos.

If i understand it correctly, the intent here was to define observable metrics to confirm that individuals being nominated are familiar with, have performed, and contributed meaningfully to the TAG. Since the existence and governance of the TAGs are managed and orchestrated through GitHub, its important to confirm such activity has occurred therein.

Given the collaborative nature of many pull requests from our TAGs, it is reasonable to expect that over the course of a potential candidate's involvement in the TAG that they have assisted in triaging, reviewing pull requests, updating/changing/creating new content in the TAG repo, and performed other git observable and trackable activities that demonstrate a deeper level of active involvement in the group's success beyond discussions and slack messages. Effectively demonstrating skills, management, and forethought that we would expect from the leaders of our TAGs.

Would other's confirm my understanding?

* Be active in the community within the last 3 months before their nomination
* Active - Attending at least 1 `<TAG NAME>` Regular Meeting a month
* Engaging in community chat via Slack or lists
* Commenting on PRs and issues to drive suggestions to proposals, define scope, resolve clarity issues, etc.
* Agree to the nomination

*additional requirements may be defined in the specific [roles](template-roles.md) governance document* <!-- ! UPDATE THE LINK ! -->

**Nominations must**:

* Come from someone other than the nominee
* Have justification from the nominator regarding the nominee's capabilities

### Justification for nominees

To ensure nominations are thoughtful and supported, in addition to the above requirements, a justification must enumerate on the nominee's:

* TAG Community involvement
* Leadership and collaboration skills
* Willingness to learn and expand existing technical knowledge