PEF members elect Wayne Spence as the union's president

ALBANY, NY (06/23/2015)(readMedia)-- Albany– Ballots cast by members of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) for the union's top leadership positions were counted today by the American Arbitration Association in Manhattan.

By a vote of 6,172 to 6,045, PEF members elected Wayne Spence over Susan M. Kent to lead the union for the next three years. He was a candidate from the Coalition of Union Professionals (COUP) ticket.

COUP candidate Kevin Hintz won the position of secretary-treasurer, ousting Carlos Garcia by a vote of 6,322 to 5,824.

Union members also voted to fill three vice-president positions. They elected COUP candidates Peter Banks, Nikki Brate and Adreina Adams.

The union has three trustees and the winners of that race are Maureen Kellman of the New York Union Proud (NYUP) slate, and Maddie Shannon-Roberts and Sarah Lauser of the COUP slate.

The newly elected officers will be sworn in Monday, August 3, 2015, at PEF headquarters in Latham.

A complete list of the regional coordinators and Executive Board members who were elected will be posted to the PEF website at www.pef.org as soon as possible. According to PEF election rules, a recount will be done where the difference in the candidates' tallies is less than 2% of the total.

PEF is New York's second-largest, state-employee union representing 54,000 professional, scientific and technical employees who work at various agencies and facilities throughout New York state.