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VOTING FOR YOUR WALLET?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
July 27, 2012
You
can’t turn on your TV without being reminded that 2012 is a
presidential election year. Instead of watching real news you
get bombarded with campaign ads telling you what a total moron
the other candidate really is. Most campaign ads seem to be
aimed at an audience with an IQ below 70. I’m still looking
for the ad that will tell me exactly what plans the candidates
have -- IF they get elected.
Maybe
that is one of the reasons why voting is not the favorite
pastime of U.S. citizens? According to statistics, not even 50%
of all eligible citizens are registered to vote – and not even
half of these registered voters actually bother to vote. Maybe
the vote should be done in a similar way as American
Idol, where regularly more people vote than in the
presidential election.
But
instead of complaining about all the bad office holders, people
should vote – vote out the bums that use their political
office for private enrichment. That doesn’t only go for high
political office, that’s as well important for your
association election. The participation in association elections
is similarly low as in U.S. elections. Most associations have a
hard time to overcome the 30% quorum hurdle. In many
associations only generic proxies cast to create a quorum make
elections even possible.
Every
property owner in community associations should really
reconsider that total lack of interest in board elections. Most
owners seem to forget that a bad board and/or a bad board
president can do more damage to their wallet than any politician
in
Washington
or
Tallahassee
. Owners seem to forget that they are liable for serious
mistakes made by board members. Board members are indemnified
– owners are not. Owners pay for the incompetence – or
private agenda – of the board members they elected, even if
they didn’t vote in the election. Many owners don’t seem to
realize how important it is to elect board members who have the
interest of the community in mind – and are not easily
intimidated by service providers and/or pushy vendors – or a
dictatorial board president.
I deal nearly daily with folks trying to recall their
association board members – often with very mixed results.
Believe me, it’s a lot more difficult to unseat an elected
board member than to organize your neighbors before the upcoming
election and to vote in candidates who have the welfare of the
community in mind. If an elected board member turns out to be a
moron who thinks he is Adolph II, organize candidates and
neighbors in a timely fashion. Vote the bum out! But
that only works if the eligible owners vote. VOTING IS IMPORTANT!
Never forget, the president of the board of your association can
do much more damage to your wallet than the President of the
United States can!
Go and vote – and
protect your wallet!
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