Ballots mail June 2 to CATA member dealers to choose the next four members of the association’s board of directors. There are four candidates on the ballot.
 
The aberration in the structure of the annual elections comes in light of the board voting to contract the size of its body from 15 directors to 13 over two years, a change that comes in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.
 
Directors said they reasoned that most dealers would prefer to focus on their business concerns in the current climate rather than mount a campaign to get elected to the board. The board constricted from 18 directors following the Great Recession in the 2000s.
 
"The first reduction to 14 members takes place this year. That means that this year we have no incumbent directors ineligible for reelection," CATA President David Sloan wrote in an April 29 letter to member dealers.    

"With that in mind, and due to the unique conditions brought on by the pandemic, the Nominating Committee determined that it will not present additional nominations for Director. (There is, however, an additional process for any interested dealer to gather petition signatures to be placed on the ballot, so please contact me if you are interested.)"
 
Voters will be asked to return to the board John Crane (Hawk Auto Group), Fred Marks (Classic Toyota-Kia, Waukegan), Jason Roberts (Advantage Chevrolet, Bolingbrook and Hodgkins; and Advantage Toyota, Calumet City), and Richard Wickstrom (Wickstrom Auto Group, Barrington).
 
"Next year, when the Board further reduces to 13 members, and there are only three incumbents, we plan to return to the practice of nominating five or more candidates for four vacancies, assuming business conditions have returned to normal," Sloan wrote in his April 29 letter.
 
A director can serve up to three three-year terms on the board. All the incumbents on the 2020 ballot are completing their first terms.