Victoria Riskin resigned as president of the Writers Guild of America's Western division Tuesday, saying she wanted to end a controversy over her membership qualifications before it affected upcoming contract negotiations with studios.
Her resignation, a first for the guild, was an ill-timed embarrassment: Contract talks are expected to start soon over such high-stakes issues as sharing in studio DVD revenue and strengthening the union's health plan.
Riskin's formal announcement followed a tense, 13-hour board meeting that ended at 4:30 a.m. Just after midnight, Riskin told directors she would leave, heading off what was likely to be a bruising fight.
"Vicki did the right thing in agreeing to step down," board member J.F. Lawton said. "She made the decision for us. If she had made the decision to fight, it would have hurt the guild. It would have been very painful to remove her."
Riskin is succeeded by Vice President Charles Holland in representing about 9,000 television and film writers, most of whom live in Southern California. Holland said in a statement that he assumed the post "with a heavy heart yet strong determination."
A guild veteran and experienced negotiator, Holland is the first African American to lead the union. He is a former studio business affairs executive who has written for such shows as "JAG" and co-chaired the guild's negotiations committee during the last bargaining round in 2001.
"It's in very capable hands," said writer and producer John Wells, a former guild president.
Riskin quit after a report commissioned by the board from Stanford law professor William B. Gould IV recommended she be replaced immediately. Gould concluded that Riskin's writing inactivity disqualified her to run for reelection in September because she had let her status as a current member lapse in June.
Riskin said in an interview that she followed procedures laid out for her by guild officials. But, she said, "I didn't want this to be about me even though it is about me. I wanted to step aside so the guild could go on and do its work."
Designed to counter criticism in the 1980s that nonworking writers overly influenced the guild, the rules require that candidates be current in their membership for 12 continuous months leading up to an election.
Riskin maintained that a hastily arranged writing deal with producer Barry Kemp should have extended her membership.
