Sam Sloan for USCF Executive Board

Ever since I took office on the board last August, I have fulfilled or
tried my best to fulfill every campaign promise I made. I have opened
up and started an investigation into why the USCF lost two million
dollars in past years. I have exposed payments made by board members
to their political allies. I have in most cases (but not in all cases)
stopped wasteful and ridiculous expenditures. Most importantly, I have
opened the doors to the inner sanctum and exposed some of the most
vile political deals, secrets which are not secret anymore.

Tremendous efforts were made to stop me from taking the office to
which I had been elected. Efforts have been made to censure me, to
reprimand me, to recall me and so on. Big bucks are going to be spent
this year to stop me from being re-elected, and for good reason. It is
up to you, the voters, to decide whether you want to return to the
politics of secrecy, whether you want the door that I have opened to
be slammed shut again.

There are several important issues to be considered by the voters.
Here is my take on them:

Finances:

The USCF has lost two million dollars since 1999. This explains the
high turnover in Executive Directors. We keeping being told that
"Prosperity is just around the corner". This year, so far in the first
six months, the USCF has lost around $250,000. Yet, we are told that
we are ahead of budget and we will make it all back in the
SuperNationals in the Spring and will show a small profit for the
year. Do you believe this, in view of the two million dollars we have
lost up until now?

I have only one vote on the board but nevertheless I have become the
watchdog on the finances. I have consistently voted against needless
expenditures. Everyone will agree that nothing gets by me. I have
stopped numerous aimless Boondoggles.

Since I have been on the board, I have forced the Executive Director
to produce a CD showing all entries in the General Ledger Account
since 1999. Through my study of the documents on this CD, I have
discovered numerous improper payments, political deals, payments to
friends and so on and I have reported them. This explains why
established board members are trying to get rid of me.

The Board Vote to Censor Me

When I proved that a board member had rigged his own rating by
submitting fraudulent rating reports involving fictitious players,
causing him to resign, and when I notified the membership that the
USCF had no money and no sponsor to hold the US Championship, the
board voted to censure me the next day for telling the truth. It is up
to the voters to decide whether they want the Official Secrets of the
USCF to remain secret.

US Championship

This year is a zonal year where our top players can qualify to the
next stage of the World Championship Cycle. I favor a traditional
12-14 player round robin with the right to compete in the US
Championship decided on the basis of rating only. The insiders oppose
this, insisting instead that only the top three rated players qualify
by rating and the rest be awarded in qualifier tournaments, which are
dispensed as political plums. I strongly oppose any plan for the US
Championship to be online. I have the support of almost all the top
players on this. Nevertheless, other board members are insisting that
low rated players, some not even in the top 100, be allowed to play in
the US Championship, thereby squeezing out many of our top
grandmasters. It is to be recalled that last year a player rated 1672
was allowed to play in the US Championship under their plan.

Crossville Land Deal

Perhaps the most outrageous and irresponsible thing the USCF Executive
Board has done is spend $650,000 in membership dues money to build a
building in Crossville on land supposedly "gifted" to us. I have
demanded that the USCF obtain an opinion of counsel as to our rights
to the land. The Board has consistently voted against seeking legal
advice as to our rights to the land and the building on it. I raised
this issue again at the board meeting in Los Angeles on February 4,
2007 and again I was voted down. Nobody even buys a house without
getting an opinion of counsel. It is outrageous that the USCF Board
went ahead with this deal without legal representation.

The above issues are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many wrong
things going on inside the USCF right now. If you want your chess
federation to continue on its downward spiral, I have a list of
candidates you can vote for. If you want a candidate who is trying to
stop the USCF from sinking into oblivion, vote for me.

Sam Sloan