Dueling Parliamentarians
By John R. Berg, PRP
The parliamentarian, seated next to the presiding officer during a meeting, is in a most visible position! What happens when various factions in the assembly have their own parliamentarian or parliamentarians? That parliamentarian seated next to the presiding officer normally would have been selected by the presiding officer, with any fee to the parliamentarian being borne by the organization. Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, (12th ed.) (RONR), 47:48,53. An alternative would be to have a board or other body select and contract with the parliamentarian on behalf the organization. The key element is that the parliamentarian’s client is the organization, not the presiding officer. Conceivably a parliamentarian could be selected and personally paid by the presiding officer. That could compromise the parliamentarian’s appearance of impartiality, particularly if the presiding officer is at odds with leadership or membership factions in 18
National Parliamentarian • Winter 2021
the organization. The parliamentarian’s client would then be perceived as the presiding officer, and not the organization. If a faction in the organization has its own parliamentarian aside from the official parliamentarian advising the presiding officer, the parliamentarian’s client clearly would be the faction that engaged the parliamentarian. Normally, the officially appointed parliamentarian is accepted without reservation or any action by the assembly, although it could object to the appointment of a non-member, particularly if it is perceived that the parliamentarian was appointed with bias. The presiding officer is also free to request the advice of experienced members, particularly if there is no
