An important election gets underway in Canada this week. Voting that will select four new members to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) - the body that administers Canada's official country code TLD, .CA - gets underway at 12 noon (Eastern time) on Wednesday (Sept. 21, 2011) and will conclude at the same time one week later (Wednesday, Sept. 28).

CIRA members will elect three new members from a Final Nomination Committe Slate and one new member from a Final Members Slate, with each new board member to serve a 3-year term.  You can see the finalists on each slate here. 

These finalists were culled from an original group of 221 applicants. Only 9 candidates made it to the Final Members Slate and one of those is a well-known and highly respected figure in the domain industry, Frank Michlick. You can read Frank's Nominee Statement here, detailing why he wants to serve on the CIRA board. 

Frank has an impressive resume that includes 5 1/2 years as a Senior Sales Engineer with popular Canadian Domain Registrar Tucows/OpenSRS. In 2007 he started DomainCocoon, a consulting business for Domain Investors, Registries, Registrars, Hosting companies and Resellers. He is also one of the managing editors at DomainNameNews.com.

Frank noted that he came to Canada as a 

Frank Michlick - one of 9 finalists 
on the Final Member's Slate vying for 
a seat on the CIRA Board of Directors.

German national in 2000 to devote his career to Canada’s Internet. "I am exemplary of this country's diverse cultural backgrounds and consider myself a true Canadian, having lived in Ottawa, Toronto and now Montreal with my wife and son," Michlick said. 

Frank added, "I will work to ensure that members and stakeholders in the .CA registry are better represented at the registry. My background and network within the domain industry will help me to achieve this goal."

I've always thought .CA was an excellent extension and its importance continues to grow as Internet users seek out local sources of goods, services and information. That in turn makes having  exceptionally well qualified people overseeing registry operations of utmost importance. Having known Frank for several years I know he would be an excellent addition to the CIRA board. 

Only one person can be elected from the nine well qualified candidates on the Member's Slate and it's bound to be a tight race, so CIRA members who want to support Frank or any of the other candidates need to make sure they cast their ballot - one vote could end up making the difference in this election. 

(Posted Sept. 19, 2011)