Screen Actors Guild members have overwhelmingly re-elected Ken Howard president to his second two-year term, effectively endorsing his plan to merge the guild with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
His running-mate, Amy Aquino, was re-elected secretary-treasurer. Aquino was unopposed.
Mike Hodge, president of the New York division, also was re-elected.
The Guild announced the winners Thursday.
The election was a referendum on merging SAG with AFTRA — a cause Howard has spent the past two years championing.
And it was a big win. Howard got 17,492 votes. Anti-merger candidate David Hillberg received 3,047. Sharon Rubin received 1,681 votes and Asmar Muhammad got 855.
Only 23.23 percent of SAG's 100,994 eligible voters cast ballots.
SAG's Hollywood Division elected 12 National Board members. Its New York Division elected five and its branches in Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Nashville, Nevada and Washington-Baltimore elected seven.
In a written statement, Howard said, "With so many pro-merger candidates elected again this year, there's no doubt what members want, and I look forward to presenting a comprehensive plan to the SAG and AFTRA boards in January."
Aquino also issued a written statement saying, "Two years ago, SAG members definitively set the Guild on the road to merger, and this election confirms they want it more than ever."
Ballots were mailed to SAG members on Aug. 23 and had to be returned by Thursday. The guild picked up the ballots on Thursday morning and spent much of the day tabulating the votes.
National Board members elected from the Hollywood Division are: Tony Shalhoub, Ken Howard, Adam Arkin, Amy Aquino, Stephen Collins, D.W. Moffett, Scott Bakula, Ned Vaughn, Mimi Cozzens, Arye Gross, L. Scott Caldwell (three-year terms) and Kate Flannery (one-year term).
National Board members elected from the New York Division are: Rebecca Damon, Lewis Black, Sam Robards, Ezra Knight and Jay Potter.
And National Board members from the regions are: Bill Mootos (Boston), Suzanne Burkhead (Dallas/Ft. Worth), Ed Kelly (Detroit), Robert Nelson (Houston), Cece DuBois (Nashville), Art Lynch (Nevada) and Steven F. Schmidt (Washington-Baltimore).
Howard is an Emmy and Tony Award winner who starred in "The White Shadow" from 1978 to 1982. He has had recurring roles on "30 Rock," "Dynasty," "Melrose Place" and "Crossing Jordan." He appears in the upcoming J. Edgar Hoover biopic "J. Edgar," directed by Clint Eastwood.
Aquino has appeared in "Moonstruck," "Law & Order," "Castle," "Monk," "ER," "CSI" and "Everybody Loves Rayond," among others. She holds a master's degree from the Yale School of Drama.
