1. Call to Order
The business meeting was called to order by President William Haltom at 6: 22 pm.

1. The Dissertation Award was presented by Ted Jelen to Dr. Tamir Moustafa, University of Washington for his dissertation, “Law Versus the State:  The Expansion of Constitutional Power in Egypt, 1980-2001.”
   
   
2. The Pi Sigma Alpha Award was presented by Lori Cox Han to Sarah A. Fulton, graduate student at University of California, Davis, for her paper, “Becoming a Woman of the House:  A Model of Gender and Progressive Ambition.”
   
   
3. The Betty Nesvold Women & Politics Award was presented by Jacqueline Vaughn to Professor Jane Bayes, California State University, Northridge for her paper, “Building Scattered Solidarities Among the Different:  Transnational Feminisms in the Globalization Era:  An Overview.”
   
   
4. The WPSA Best Paper on Blacks & Politics Award was presented by Bill Haltom (for Maurice Mangum) to Dr. Joel David Bloom, University of Oregon, for his paper, “The Principle-Policy Puzzle Revisited II:  Raw Racism, Symbolic Racism, and Ideological Conservatism, 1990-2000.”
   
   
5. The WPSA Best Paper on Latina / Latino & Politics Award was presented by Melissa Michaelson to Dr. Robin Jackson, a graduate student at the University of Oregon, for her paper, “Characterizing Consent:  Race, Citizenship and the New Restrictionists.”
   
   
6. The Charles Redd Award for Best Paper on the Politics of the American West was presented by Quin Monson to Professors Matthew Whittaker (University of California, Riverside), Gary M. Segura (University of Iowa), and Shawn Bowler (University of Iowa), for their paper, “Racial/Ethnic Group Attitudes Towards Environmental Protection in California:  Is ‘Environmentalism’ Still a White Phenomenon?”
   
   
7. The PRQ Best Article Award was presented by Victoria Farrar-Myers to Professor Mark Peffley, University of Kentucky, and Professor Robert Rohrschneider, Indiana University, for their September 2003 PRQ article, “Democratization and Political Tolerance in Seventeen Countries:  A Multi-Level Model of Democratic Learning.”

3.   Reports

1. 2004 Portland Convention

   Program Chair Barbara Norrander reported that there were 190 panels in 22 sections at the conference, and she thanked her section chairs and Elsa Favila, Associate Director.

   Local Arrangements Chair Richard Clucas reported that the Portland conference had the second highest turn out in the history of the association, with 819 paid pre-registrants and (as of March 11) 75 on-site registrants.  He thanked the sponsors of the conference including the New York Times for its lanyards. 

2. Political Research Quarterly

   Editor Harold Clarke reported that submissions to PRQ are up over 100% since he and Ken Godwin took over in 2000.  He encouraged submission to the PRQ because authors will get careful and prompt attention.  He noted that PRQ is now part of JSTOR and it has a new format (8 1/2” by 11”), which allows longer articles and gives more room for data display and spatial analysis.  Electronic submissions are now possible through the PRQ web site.  He thanked contributors and reviewers.

3. Executive Director

   Executive Director Elizabeth Moulds thanked Richard Clucas, the local arrangement chair and Barbara Norrander, program chair, for their efforts in Portland. 

   She reported that the association is solvent and it is building a prudent reserve.  She reported the membership statistics and noted that membership goes up and down predictably as a function of the conference site. Library subscriptions are down slightly as is the case nationally.

   The 2005 convention will be held at the Oakland, March 17-19, Thursday through Saturday.  Convention planning for 2006 (Albuquerque) and 2007 (Las Vegas) is proceeding.  The conference will be held in Southern California in 2008.

   WPSA has offered significant new technological services for the members, notably conference registration via the web, thanks to web master, Associate Director Elsa Favila.  For the first time, on-line papers are available through All Academic in cooperation with APSA.  This system was a success though there are still glitches to be smoothed out.   Also in partnership with APSA, a meeting place is offered at the conference for “e jobs” interviews.

4. Treasurer                                                                     
   Treasurer Gil St. Clair reported that the association is solvent, with net assets of $178, 212.  The association was under budget by $10,000 last year. 
   

5. Nominating Committee
   Chair of the Nominating Committee, John Bretting, presented the WPSA Nominating Committee Slate for election.

Vice-President and Program Chair 2005-2006
Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Texas Christian University

Recording Secretary 2004-2007
Barbara Morris, University of Redlands

Executive Council 2005-2008

Region A
Gary Segura, University of Iowa
Noelle Norton, University of San Diego
                                                                       
Region B
Lori Cox Han, Austin College, Sherman TX

Region C
Todd Donovan, Western Washington University

5.   Old Business

There was no old business.

6.   New Business

1. Election of Officers

   Nominations from the floor were requested but there were none.  The slate was approved unanimously.

2. Announcement of Search for new PRQ Editor for June 2006

To get ready for 2006, the first step is appointment of an Editorial Selection Committee.  The committee will begin discussions at APSA in Chicago September 2004.

Bill Haltom then presented a gavel to Barbara Norrander.  Barbara Norrander is now WPSA president.

 The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Peregrine Schwartz-Shea
Recording Secretary