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Post by Admin on Jun 13, 2019 6:44:00 GMT -7
Ron Wartman Resigns From the GLA Board The shortest tenure for a Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA) director came to an end on Wednesday. Ron Wartman, who was appointed to the position on Monday night submitted his resignation. It is unclear why Wartman resigned. The Forum has reached out for comment and will post additional information as this story develops.
The GLA is now short two directors for North Glastonbury.
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2019 9:29:59 GMT -7
Ron Wartman Gives His Reasons for Resigning The Forum spoke with Ron Wartman on Friday June 14th, 2019. Mr Wartman described how he had no intentions of running for the Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA) board. He went to the monthly meeting out of curiosity and arrived late. Ron listened to Claudette Dirkers give her presentation and was surprised that no one else was running. GLA President Dennis Riley looked at Ron quizzically and asked "Are you interested Ron"? Ron liked to be involved in community affairs and enjoyed pitching in when needed. So he said "maybe". Riley responded with "well, let's take a vote". A vote quickly ensued and Ron described to the Forum how he started to feel that something was not right. After the vote was taken his unease increased. Ron won a seat with 9 votes but Claudette Dirkers, whom Ron thought was a well qualified candidate, only received 4 votes. Then Director Mark Seaver announced that the Bylaws stated that a majority of directors had to vote for a candidate. Therefore Dirkers was denied a seat. On the phone, former director Charlene Murphy, agreed with Mark Seaver and seemed sorry that Dirkers could not serve. However it was Murphy who changed the election rules without Board approval at the 2018 annual election that caused Dirkers to lose by 4 votes in November.
At that point it appeared to Ron that the events were practiced beforehand and the result was a foregone conclusion. He regretted not standing up and saying to the GLA Board "it is both of us or none of us".
After a good night's sleep and consulting with his cardiologist Ron decided that it was best to resign. He underwent open heart surgery about a year ago and his doctor felt the stress would be injurious to his health. Since Ron's decision has become public several members of the Glastonbury community have congratulated him. One person and former GLA Board member said it may be "the best decision you ever made". Another community member congratulated him and stated that "your decision may add 10 years to your life". Ron Wartman still regrets that his interest in the GLA Board may have made it easier for the board to deny a position to Dirkers whom he regarded as well qualified for the position. |
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Post by leokeeler on Jul 31, 2019 10:37:48 GMT -7
To help explain what transpired with Ron, I offer that when I saw Ron come into the meeting, I approached him and said if he wanted to get on the Board, now was the time because there were 2 openings for North and only one candidate - Claudette. I think I also said opportunities like this do not come along because in the past Board members that resigned were almost always replaced with what I thought were "Pre-Selected" people - i.e the Debbie DeGraff (who had worked very hard by contacting landowners and brought in a lot of Past Due assessments) and selecting a walk in candidate whom I'd never seen at a meeting. When I asked a couple Directors about their vote, they said because they did not know Debbie and the person selected was a "Friend" - wheres the thought process of electing Directors with skills/ability to help GLA?  As to Ron's resignation, I have also had open heart surgery, but I was not smart enough to stay off the Board. I had attended meetings for nearly 2 years, hard of all the favoritism an secrecy of past board and had friends asking me to try and make the Board actions more open and transparent. I did not expect the level of stress caused by some Directors saying one thing to your face and then voting or doing the opposite. Though I did not announce it, I knew very quickly that I would honor my commitment, but only serve one term unless things changed drastically. Since being off the Board, I have lost over 30 pounds, most put on during my tenure, and wake up in the mornings thinking it is a great day, rather than worrying about the 50-100 emails I'd get from other Directors on problems of GLA. So - Congratulations Ron for looking into serving the community and making the decision that your health is the most important thing to worry about. Leo |
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