Candidates Night 2011

It was so remarkable to see all the candidates up front and personal tonight in the hall. Some had beautifully prepared statements which they presented, others "winged it" and spoke off the cuff. The format they used this evening was brilliant, and Patty Fennessey did a great job as a moderator.
There are six new candidates, and two current board members running to fill three vacancies. In alphabetical order, each of the candidates answered the question "What can I contribute to Regency Cove as a Board Member". Many brought up their priority concerns: saving money and keeping costs down. management, maintenance, etc. One or two others just gave a little background info about their candidacy.

THEN candidate names were drawn to stand before the membership to answer direct questions. I'm sure they were all very nervous at this point. (I remember a few years ago I thought I might pass out at the mike.)
They were given a 10 minute limit, and by George, almost every candidate used every minute to defend their position on the topics raised by the shareholders.

For the most part, the questions were thoughtful and intelligent. But then, we always have that back row at the board meetings who love to heckle and make a lot of noise. Yeah, they were there tonight. QUESTION: Why didn't any of THOSE guys run for the Board? I'm not even gonna attempt an answer to that one.

We have a tough decision to make with this group of candidates.Of the new candidates, I like to look at their past performance: who has regularly attended board meetings and questioned the board of directors? Who has shown an interest in the community by serving on a committee?  Volunteering? We can't judge by attendance in the park because our board has historically survived "Snowbird Presidents" in Dan Dillon and Paul McCumber.

None of the candidates discussed serving on committees, with the exception of Parker Kimball who is currently serving on several... Marine, Finance, Building Standards.....

Two of the owners of the Becker-Poliakoff attorney firm wrote a book recently about community association living, and they likened the election of board members to an election of high school officers. Its a popularity contest, they claim. We don't need to know who the most popular candidate is, if they shuffle or play Bingo or Euchre every week. We need a few strong candidates who will stand up to a group of officers who decide to run the park without including the rest of the board. We need individuals who are willing to attend ROC Forum seminars, and not the free breakfasts at CAI, where the main topic is condo issues and you sit among condo-vendors. We have had four presidents in the last ...what 5 years?  I would like to see some stability return to our board.

I have to admit, our newest candidates Belba, Evans, Hayes, and Swift attended the most recent ROC Forum seminar. They all appear eager to attend and learn about the Florida statutes and understanding our governing documents. This is a good sign.

Vote your conscience.