The resignation of director Mary Pugh was announced shortly before the meeting opened.
According to CtW, prelminary election returns excluding ballots cast by brokers voting their clients shares show that shareholders withheld 51.2% from Lillis, 61.9% from Pugh and 50.9% from Stever. CtW and the union AFSCME had urged shareholders to withhold votes from Pugh, citing what they saw as her failure to adequately perform as head of the directors risk assessment committee. Stever, as head of the committee charged with overseeing management compensation, failed, they said, to rein in pay formulas that encouraged undue investment risk.
Shareholders of the bank, which is ailing because of its mortgage business, "sent an unequivocal message" that they are ready for "more independent and accountable directors," said CtW Investment Group executive director William Patterson. - Bill McConnell
See story about annual meeting from The Wall St. Journal
See story about annual meeting from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
See live blog coverage from Dealscape
Union pension officials are calling for two more Washington Mutual Inc. directors to lose their posts after declaring that unofficial election returns show lack of support. WaMu shareholders rejected continued board seats for James Stever and Charles Lillis. The CtW Investment Group after the bank's Tuesday annual meeting called on the WaMu board to release full election results and demand the resignation of any directors who failed to win majority among shareholders. 
