Proposed Security Council changes: members proposed by Lead and subject to Token House Veto

Proposals šŸ“ƒ
1

Proposal Type: Ratification

Documents ratified:

Executive Summary

The Optimism Foundation is proposing to ratify Operating Manual v2.1.0, Security Council Charter v0.2 and the Security Council Member Selection Criteria v0.1, which change how Security Council membership is determined.

  • The Token House elects the Security Council Lead. The Lead may be removed at any time via a ā€œRepresentative Removalā€ proposal.
  • The Lead recruits, interviews and nominates the Councilā€™s participants against the public selection criteria that are ratified by governance and the Security Council Member Selection Criteria. Nominees must clear Foundation KYC/KYB screening first.
  • Each nominee is confirmed through a new proposal type, ā€œCouncil Appointmentā€. A nominee is seated unless 20% of active votable OP supply vetoes that nominee. Each nominee is a separate proposal. Elections for Security Council cohorts are discontinued.
  • The Operating Manual update also shortens the review period for proposals to one week, in line with current practice, and makes minor cleanup improvements.

Motivation

Current process: The Security Council runs three elections per year (Cohort A, Cohort B and the Lead), each by approval voting. The Foundation has observed the following:

  • Low self-nomination volume: Significant effort goes into persuading qualified candidates to run before each election. If too few come forward, the elected Council may include unqualified members.
  • Campaigning deters the strongest candidates: The most qualified candidates are often uninterested in campaigning and the political side of an election, and opt out as a result.
  • Delegates lack the means to assess candidates. Properly evaluating the suitability of a Security Council candidate requires a thorough review and interview process, something delegates arenā€™t equipped to do.

To address these problems, the Foundation proposes that the Security Council Lead is given the task of interviewing, evaluating and proposing Security Council members. The Token House retains the ability to block any individual nominee.

Specifications

The full changes are set out in the pull requests linked above:

  • Operating Manual v2.1.0: adds the Council Appointment proposal type (proposer: the Lead; optimistic approval; 20% veto threshold; one-week review and one-week veto period); provides that only the Lead is elected for the Security Council; sets replacement and removal rules; shortens the review period for proposals to one week, in line with current practice; makes related clarifications to quorum for veto proposals; and makes minor cleanup improvements (such as removing Citizensā€™ House mentions).
  • Security Council Charter v0.2: Adds recruiting and nominating to the Leadā€™s responsibilities; Removes references to Security Council member elections; adds requirement of Foundation KYC/KYB screening before a nominee is submitted for confirmation.
  • Security Council Member Selection Criteria v0.1: sets out how the Charterā€™s eligibility criteria are assessed, the composition requirements for the Council, and the process the Lead follows when nominating. The Lead must apply the criteria and show in each Council Appointment proposal that the nominees meet them.

Risks and Mitigations

Risk: Concentration of power in the Lead: An incompetent or malicious Lead could seek to capture the Council through nominations.

Mitigations:

  • The Lead is elected and can be removed at any time by Token House proposal
  • The Lead must demonstrate that nominees meet the published Security Council Member Selection Criteria
  • Foundation KYC/KYB screening applies before any nomination is submitted
  • Delegates can veto any nominee

Action Plan

If this proposal is approved:

  • The Foundation will merge the Operating Manual v2.1.0, Security Council Charter v0.2 and Security Council Member Selection Criteria v0.1 into the OPerating Manual GitHub repo. They will take effect with the start of the next Security Council Lead election. Current signers stay seated until their appointed replacements are confirmed.
  • The Foundation will update the Security Council nomination template, onboarding checklist and agreement.
  • The Lead election will follow ratification.