LET'S HAVE A DEBATE

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published October 19, 2020

 

There certainly have been a few debates lately and there may be another on the way. Who Knows? Maybe you think Trump won. Maybe you think Biden won. Maybe you think Pence won or maybe you think Harris won.  It doesn’t matter if some of you even think the fly won.  The bottom line is that it's apparent that when it comes to voting, we want to hear what our candidates have to say, at least those candidates on the national or state stage. The question is why doesn't the same feelings apply on the very local level that is your home?

 

When it comes to HOA elections, many voters don't get to meet the candidate until the actual night of the election. Oftentimes they don't even know who's running until the night of the election. In condominium elections someone running for the condominium board has the option to include a resume in the second notice but may choose not to. Therefore, the voters may not know anything about the person running for the board of directors. How is one supposed to decide who to vote for?

 

I have had the honor of serving on a few occasions as a moderator at a “meet the candidates” night at various associations. On this night the associations ask the candidates who are running for the board of directors to address the members of the community. Each one is given a few minutes to speak and then the community has the right to ask each candidate some questions.   The truth is the incumbents have it a little more difficult because they have to answer questions about certain decisions they made in the past that might have gone bad. Typically they hang in and do a good job defending their positions however. The point is, that during a meet the candidates night at least the voters get a chance to see and hear from the people that want to serve their community.

 

The coronavirus has caused a strange phenomenon to happen in our community associations. Believe it or not I have seen more participation by board members and non-board members than ever before. You can thank video conferencing for that. The attendance at Community Association meetings is the highest I have seen in my nearly 30 years of practice. People are enjoying the ability to participate in the affairs of the community from the comfort of their home and by simply turning on their computer and tuning in. I am certainly suggesting that going forward every Association have a meet the candidates night so that the persons running for the board of directors have the opportunity to address the members of the community and the members of the community have the ability to ask questions of the people running for the board.  If it's important enough to have these debates on the national level it should certainly be important enough to have these question and answer periods when it comes to your own community and your own home.

 

And Happy 89th Birthday to my mom!


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About HOA & Condo Blog

Eric Glazer Eric Glazer graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community association law for more than 2

decades and is the owner of Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples, Fort Myers and Tampa.

 

Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.

   

See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com.

   

He is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000 Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest of Florida community association members.


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