I'm usually one who waits to "hear the other side of the story", but this
incident astounds me. For the first time since I became interested in
amateur radio, it's not clear to me why I should continue my ARRL
membership.

73, de Hans, K0HB

Hans,

I am somewhat surprised at your naivete. The power and authority
for the "executive committee" to screen and block any candidate "for the
good of the service" was vested in a few individuals in the ARRL a few years
back. Read the BOD minutes and the by-laws. This applies all the way
down to the SM, SCM, EC level. That was about the time that the BOD minutes
was removed from the QST mag. reason: to save on printing costs. I
specifically protested through channels and on this forum at the time that
there was no peer review, no appeals process, no redress, no system of
checks and balances to prevent a runaway "star chamber". When an
organization reaches this level of tyranny under the guise of legitimacy, no
reform is possible.

Clay N4AOX