Copyright The Hollywood Reporter
Danny Lin has been elected president of The Animation Guild after running unopposed to lead the more than 5,000-person union. The writer and storyboard artist, who has worked on shows including The Adventures of Puss in Boots and Adventure Time: Fiona & Cake, will be sworn into office on Dec. 2. “I could not be more honored or grateful to serve as the incoming president of The Animation Guild, a union that has evolved so much in the past decade and only continues to grow in both size and power,” Lin said in a statement. “But this is a bittersweet moment of celebration for me. So many of our members are out of work and struggling to pay their bills while our employers axe productions, enact sweeping layoffs to boost their stock value, and chase their shiny new toy, Generative A.I.” Lin added that, faced with these challenges, “we must cultivate hope, community, solidarity, humanity, and art. These are beacons of light in dark times, and they are qualities I see reflected in our newly elected executive board and in each and every member of The Animation Guild. We will continue to organize, to fight, and to win.” Lin will lead alongside incumbent Roger Oda, an art director and background designer who has worked on X-Men ‘97 and Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, who was elected vice president. Oda also ran unopposed. The election saw the union’s business representative Steve Kaplan re-elected and Paula Spence elected as the treasurer after both ran unopposed. Spence, an art director on Solar Opposites and Plankton: The Movie, currently serves as The Animation Guild’s recording secretary. Union president Jeanette Moreno King, who will step down from the position after six years in December, was elected secretary after running on a promise to “strengthen and modernize our union while protecting the hard-won rights and stability that members count on.” Moreno King is the director of Q-Force and The Freak Brothers. Current executive board member David DePasquale was elected sergeant-at-arms. DePasquale, a character designer who worked on Central Park and Arlo the Alligator Boy, pledged during the election to listen to members and engage in difficult conversations. “Ensuring all members are seen and heard will always be my highest priority,” he wrote in his candidate statement. The election also saw Marissa Bernstel, Candice Stephenson, Rachael Cohen, Chrissy Fellmeth, Andy Garner-Flexner, Roma Murphy, Dan Pinto, Kolja Erman, KC Johnson, Mike Rianda and Claire Morrissey elected to the executive board. Marissa Bernstel, Candice Stephenson and Rachel Cohen will serve as trustees starting in December. All the elected members will serve three-year terms. The election, which ran between Oct. 14 and Nov. 7, was supervised by AAA.
