Sun City Anthem Board
Member
Jim Mayfield
Discusses Recent Board Election
&
Recommendations
for Change to the Board Manual
Conduct of Election Committee Members and Conduct of the Election
Although numerous complaints were received
regarding the Election Committee and some of its individual members, I neither
observed nor found evidence that support the allegations raised.
My assessment is that the Election Committee
performed its duties in a highly competent, objective manner, consistent with
public standards for integrity and professionalism.
The Election Committee has a distinguished
reputation for conducting a fair, objective, honest election process and for
creating the perception of an honest election.
The 2015-2016 performed its work consistent with
this reputation.
Conduct By Board
Members
During my investigation of the alleged
breakdown in the security of the ballots, facts were revealed to me that cause
me to believe that actions by the President, Vice President,
and Secretary were taken that caused a loss of the control over and accounting
for Ballot Packages that were returned to SCA as
undeliverable.
In my assessment,
this breakdown was a result of a decision by the General Manager, encouraged by
three Board members, that transferred the
responsibility for collecting and accounting for the ballots to SCA's legal
counsel instead of the Community Association Manager and using the long-standing
process.
The process was changed without the
knowledge or involvement of the Election Committee or the alternate liaison to
the Election Committee.
This
omission:
The advice of the
Election Committee nor the alternate liaison were utilized to in the making the
decision.
As a result, confusion and lack of
accountability related to undeliverable ballot packages creates a perception
that these ballots could have been subject to the potential for misuse.
Because of the
close race this year, this breakdown is
troublesome.
I recommend:
1. Sections 7E and 7F be modified to provide a procedure for the
collection, control and accounting for the undelivered ballots the day of the
ballot counting,
and
2. the Election Committee should insist that no changes be made to
the election process without the knowledge and counsel of the Election
Commitee.
Perception of Objectivity of Board
Liaison
The Board liaisons
should be subject to the same confidentiality and limitation of support for a
candidate(s) as the members of the Election Committee.
Furthermore, if a
compliant is filed by the spouse or relative or a member of the EC or a Board
liaison, that person should recuse themselves from the matter.
The assertion by the lead liaison that
he was not subject to the same rules as members of the Election Committee may be
technically correct, but such lack of understanding
conflicts of interest created distrust of the election process within the
community.
Allegations of Misuse of
Club Rosters and E-Mail Lists
Allegations were made
regarding the use of club e-mailing lists by Board members and others to solicit
the votes on behalf of candidates. These allegations
could not be verified.
However, common sense certainly supports the
conclusion that control of the lists provides the opportunity for the
unauthorized use of such lists.
Therefore, I recommend that
the Election Committee request that the CLSC (?) investigate controls over such lists and whether
former club officers are instructed to return all lists to the club at the end
of their tenure.
Backup Ballot Counting
Machine
The ballot counting
machine malfunctioned during the counting. This caused a backup machine to
attempted to be used that had not been tested nor did it work.
As a result, a manual procedure was
used to complete the counting of votes.
This was an inexcusable breakdown
because the requirement to have a tested backup counting machine was identified
as a requirement in previous years.
The Election Manual should contain a
requirement for the counting machines, including their software, to be tested
using a test deck of ballots the day before the counting of the ballot.
The test should be conducted in the
presence of the Community Association Manager and two members of the Election
Committee.
Dick ArendtJune 7, 2016 at 9:29 PM
Dick ArendtJune 7, 2016 at 9:29 PM
We have learned from a reliable source that the individual suspected of impropriety was current Association president, Rex Weddle.
In addition, the three board members referred to the article alluding to the apparent breakdown include Treasurer, Thomas Nissen, Secretary, Bella Meese, in addition to former President, Jean Capillupo.