Keith Paul Bishop has the details on their critique of the SEC's reversal of position in the Whole Foods shareholder fight:
... a coalition of some 17 different organizations ... denounced the SEC’s “abrupt” change of course “at the height of the shareholder proposal season on the eve of a three day holiday weekend”. In particular, the coalition decried the “opaque process by which this sudden shift in policy was decided and communicated”.
There is no doubt, moreover, that the coalition’s criticism was aimed directly at the Chairman White:
More troubling still, it also appears that this fundamental change in policy was made without any apparent consideration by, or formal vote of, the other four SEC commissioners. The announcement was simply a pair of statements by the Chair and the Division, not as action by the full Commission. We believe policy changes of this magnitude should only be made in a formal action by the full Commission.
This isn’t the only recent case of unilateralism. Just last month, the adopting release for a new rule was rewritten after a Commission meeting approving the rule. See Did The SEC Violate The Administrative Procedure Act? Also last month, it appears that the Chairman initiated a broad and burdensome informal inquiry perhaps in response to pressure from some members of Congress. See Is Anything Fishy With The SEC’s Whistleblower Inquiries?
It seems Chair White shares President Obama's penchant for unilateral executive action.
