Contentious Race Over But will it Bring Needed Change?

In what has amounted to an upset, information about the election of Officers in the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) 2013 elections is making its way through social media. It appears that the McLean/Oberstein ticket has emerged victorious with the following indiviudals now in leadership positions:

• Micheal McLean - President
• Ron Oberstein - Vice President
• Selina M. Sigafoose-Jackson - Secretary-Treasurer
• Sharon Gorman - Southern Regional Director
• John Bueler - Western Regional Director

The individuals on the McLean/Oberstein ticket were nominated by the ICA membership through a contentious nomination process and went on to garner more votes than the Rodnick/Tanis ticket which consisted of the following individuals:

• Corey B. Rodnick - Ran for President
• Lora Tanis - Ran for Vice President
• Stephen P. Welsh - Ran for Secretary-Treasurer
• Claire M. Welsh - Ran for Southern Regional Director
• James E. Musick - Ran for Western Regional Director

This was despite the fact that the entire Rodnick Team was endorsed by the ICA Chairman, the ICA President, the ICA Vice-President, the ICA Secretary/Treasurer and the majority of the ICA Board. In fact, the Rodnick team had been chosen by the nominating committee of the ICA.

In discussions during the election campaign McLean and his team vowed changes in the ICA. According to the McClean/Oberstein website they have a 6 point strategy for the ICA:

• Grow ICA to Historical Membership Levels While Increasing the Leadership Roles of Women in the ICA
• Reform the CCE
• Keep Drugs & Surgery Out of Chiropractic and Keep Subluxation In
• Increase Student Enrollment
• Social Media Exposure
• Increase Membership Value

In a question and answer dialogue sent to both tickets McLean registered concerns regarding the ICA's support of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC), the Chiropractic Summit Group, ICA's relationship with the ACA in regards to pediatrics and disdain for the decision of the ICA to sign on to the now infamous CCE Consensus Statement.

Unfortunately, McLean's team did indicate continued ICA support for the concept of primary care in chiropractic education and practice.

Similarly, Welsh had argued in released statements that chiropractic is the practice of primary care. This is consistent with the position of the CCE, ACA, and the rest of the Chiropractic Cartel.

Welsh further argued that we need to continue support for the WFC and Welsh had also voted to accept “neurobiomechanical dysfunction” as being synonymous with vertebral subluxation in CCE documents. This was the same vote with the CCE, ACA, FCLB and COCSA (All Cartel Members) where he endorsed the phrase: “without unnecessary drugs and surgery” and endorsed the concept of chiropractors as primary care providers.

This decision became a point of contention among ICA members.

How the results of these elections will play out in terms of policy remains to be seen as the profession continues its rapid move into the practice of primary care.