Post by Admin on Oct 20, 2019 19:42:27 GMT -7
Will the 2019 Annual Election be Cancelled?
A few days ago, the Forum spoke with a North Glastonbury landowner who is connected to the Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA) Board. She told us that she was "disgusted with the GLA" and had "twenty other landowners who were boycotting the Annual Election." Her stated goal was to deny the GLA Board a quorum at the 2019 Annual Meeting, and thus, force them to cancel the GLA Election.
Our Bylaws require that 25% of the membership interests in good standing be present at the Annual Meeting for it to commence. In 2018, that came to 83. The GLA determines when a quorum is reached by counting the absentee ballots and then adding that amount to the number of landowners who have signed in as attendees and/or proxies at the GLA Annual Meeting. Usually quorum is reached about 15 to 30 minutes after the doors are opened at Emigrant Hall. If twenty landowners who normally voted by absentee or in person boycotted the Annual Meeting, a quorum may not be reached. The GLA could decide to cancel the meeting, but voting should be allowed until 12 Noon. If a quorum was reached before noon, then the Annual Meeting could begin. If a quorum was not reached by noon, when the voting ended, the Annual Meeting would be cancelled. It is not clear if the election would be legitimate without an Annual Meeting and candidate presentations.
Voter turnout may be lower than normal in South Glastonbury in 2019 due to the unpopularity of two candidates; Clare Parker and Ed Dobrowski. Both were part of a lawsuit that cost landowners over $20,000.00 and prevented the 2017 Annual Election from being held until June of 2018. Clare Parker and Ed Dobrowski both lost their 2018 election bids badly.
Another way to cancel the 2019 Annual Meeting might be by landowner provocation and the disturbance that could possibly cause. In July of 2014, the GLA Board held a Special Meeting to discuss the future of the Association. The issue at hand was the continued O'Connell lawsuits and the subsequent cancellation of the GLA's liability insurance. It was thought that the O'Connell lawsuits could drain the GLA treasury and severely impact landowner services. There was even talk behind closed doors of dissolving the GLA rather than let the O'Connell's sue it out of existence. Emigrant Hall was packed, and some people had to stand. The O'Connells were given room next to the Director's table and allowed to speak freely. The meeting soon devolved into a shouting match and the crowd thinned substantially. About 45 minutes into the chaotic meeting, President Dan Kehoe called an adjournment of the meeting. No serious ideas or solutions were ever allowed to be discussed.
At the August 2019 GLA monthly Board Meeting, President Dennis Riley threatened to shut down the meeting if the Forum exercised its First Amendment Rights by taking photos. Recent Board discussions have again focused on the Forum and what could be done if photos were snapped at the Annual Meeting.
Last September, former GLA Board member Charlene Murphy and several GLA directors, discussed reducing the size of the Board if they could not attract enough candidates to fill the vacancies. Since then seven candidates have applied for the seven open positions, so all in theory, should get on the GLA Board. But if the election were cancelled, then none would win a position on the Board. At that point, the GLA Board could vote to reduce the number of positions on the Board to six; three from North Glastonbury and three from South Glastonbury. That would consolidate power into the hands of a few and eliminate the need to hold another Annual Election until 2020. Current directors that are in the middle of their two year terms would continue to serve. In South Glastonbury Ken Hurley, Jerri Ladewig and Andrea Seaver would serve the remainder of their terms. In North Glastonbury Newman Brozovsky and Gerald Dubiel would continue to serve until November 2020. Because John Carp resigned the new five member Board would have to appoint one director for North Glastonbury.
Our Bylaws require that 25% of the membership interests in good standing be present at the Annual Meeting for it to commence. In 2018, that came to 83. The GLA determines when a quorum is reached by counting the absentee ballots and then adding that amount to the number of landowners who have signed in as attendees and/or proxies at the GLA Annual Meeting. Usually quorum is reached about 15 to 30 minutes after the doors are opened at Emigrant Hall. If twenty landowners who normally voted by absentee or in person boycotted the Annual Meeting, a quorum may not be reached. The GLA could decide to cancel the meeting, but voting should be allowed until 12 Noon. If a quorum was reached before noon, then the Annual Meeting could begin. If a quorum was not reached by noon, when the voting ended, the Annual Meeting would be cancelled. It is not clear if the election would be legitimate without an Annual Meeting and candidate presentations.
Voter turnout may be lower than normal in South Glastonbury in 2019 due to the unpopularity of two candidates; Clare Parker and Ed Dobrowski. Both were part of a lawsuit that cost landowners over $20,000.00 and prevented the 2017 Annual Election from being held until June of 2018. Clare Parker and Ed Dobrowski both lost their 2018 election bids badly.
Another way to cancel the 2019 Annual Meeting might be by landowner provocation and the disturbance that could possibly cause. In July of 2014, the GLA Board held a Special Meeting to discuss the future of the Association. The issue at hand was the continued O'Connell lawsuits and the subsequent cancellation of the GLA's liability insurance. It was thought that the O'Connell lawsuits could drain the GLA treasury and severely impact landowner services. There was even talk behind closed doors of dissolving the GLA rather than let the O'Connell's sue it out of existence. Emigrant Hall was packed, and some people had to stand. The O'Connells were given room next to the Director's table and allowed to speak freely. The meeting soon devolved into a shouting match and the crowd thinned substantially. About 45 minutes into the chaotic meeting, President Dan Kehoe called an adjournment of the meeting. No serious ideas or solutions were ever allowed to be discussed.
At the August 2019 GLA monthly Board Meeting, President Dennis Riley threatened to shut down the meeting if the Forum exercised its First Amendment Rights by taking photos. Recent Board discussions have again focused on the Forum and what could be done if photos were snapped at the Annual Meeting.
Last September, former GLA Board member Charlene Murphy and several GLA directors, discussed reducing the size of the Board if they could not attract enough candidates to fill the vacancies. Since then seven candidates have applied for the seven open positions, so all in theory, should get on the GLA Board. But if the election were cancelled, then none would win a position on the Board. At that point, the GLA Board could vote to reduce the number of positions on the Board to six; three from North Glastonbury and three from South Glastonbury. That would consolidate power into the hands of a few and eliminate the need to hold another Annual Election until 2020. Current directors that are in the middle of their two year terms would continue to serve. In South Glastonbury Ken Hurley, Jerri Ladewig and Andrea Seaver would serve the remainder of their terms. In North Glastonbury Newman Brozovsky and Gerald Dubiel would continue to serve until November 2020. Because John Carp resigned the new five member Board would have to appoint one director for North Glastonbury.
