ELECTIONS – OR SAD COMEDY?

By Jan Bergemann

Published October 26, 2018

 

It’s autumn – the time when the snowbirds are coming back South and many associations hold their elections.

 

But do we really have “fair” elections in Florida’s community associations?

I don’t think so. The legislators have done a horrible job creating election laws – and the Division arbitrators are doing everything in their power to confuse the situation even more.

 

Elections in community associations are more a crapshoot than an election supposedly creating a board managing the affairs of the association. There are so many vague wording in the election provisions that holding a fair election is nearly impossible.

 

Many of the big association law firms are doing everything in their power to confuse the issues even more by making sure that the wording regulating elections in associations is more than just vague – and instead of finally getting the message our esteemed legislators under the “great” leadership of George Moraitis (Thank God for Term Limits) created even more confusing language.

 

Honestly: Not even in Russia they have election laws that allows a sitting board to appoint a Nominating Committee that then is allowed to limit the candidates for the election to the people they like – for example their spouses. ONLY IN FLORIDA’S HOAs!

 

In condos legislators obviously attempted to create 8-year term-limits for board members. But, according to lots of attorneys with very different opinions, the language the legislators enacted in FS 718 doesn’t really say if the term is retro-active or not.

 

LET’S FACE IT: We send former presidents to foreign countries to “observe” their elections to make sure they are fair. BUT WE CAN’T EVEN CREATE THE SIMPLE NECESSARY RULES TO MAKE SURE THAT ELECTIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY ELECTIONS ARE FAIR!


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Jan Bergemann Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice, Florida 's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group. CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in community  

associations. He moved to Florida in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues for his own purposes. End of retirement!

 

CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in Tallahassee - finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.

 

The organization has two websites to inform interested Florida homeowners and condo owners:

News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.

Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.

   
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all service providers surely have a different interest! We are trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking in Florida !


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