Board accused of being all white racist's

Started by GaryR6 • 7 replies • 3352 views

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GaryR6 (Connecticut)
Posts: 33

Posted:

The Board of Directors in the association where I reside is being accused by a certian couple of being an "all white racist board". The board conducted the proper procedures during the annual vote. The assciations attorney was present to make sure fairness, honesty, and accountability was applied/evident. Several unit owners ran for the two open positions. Two of the candidates are African American, one is hispanic and three are considered white. Well, in tallying the votes --- two of the white candidates won.

One couple --African American are now accusing the present board of racism. They claim the following:
1) The board is an "all white board".
2) The Board of Directors has asked her & her spouse to respect the present board --- they both have become
verbally aggressive on several occassions and the board has asked them to leave. They refused, so the board
motoined to adjourn the unit owners meeting.
3) They are attempting to suade other unit owners who are considered "minorities" to follow their actions.
4) They have harassed several contractors ---paving company,our present snow plow company, and the
summer landscapers.
5) They are constantly demanding documents and when supplied with them they state that is not what
they rquested--etc.
6) Several of the board members are concerned about this couples actions.They feel this couple may attempt to file
greivances with the commission on discrimination.

Any suggestions would be appreciated on how to resolve these issues in a fair and equitable way.

Thanks
Gary

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Ignore it and move on. Don't even address or concern yourself with it. If they sue, they sue. Tell them if they sue the HOA they are suing themselves and their neighbors. People who play the "Race" card are doing so to distract from the issue. Again do the right thing or in your case the "white" thing (I know bad joke

) and keep handling your business. If they take issue then they take issue. Besides isn't a "white racist" kind of rendundant?

I've been compared to "Hitler" myself and referred to as "Dicator"

. It's just an intimidation response some people use just like threatening to sue. Stop letting people intimidate you all with any empty threats of suing. Everyone can sue for anything at anytime. Learn this response: "Go ahead and sue. We will wait for the paperwork". Then wait on the paperwork. It is cheaper for a HOA to countersue than bring a suit anyways. Plus you can even let people know that they will just be suing themselves and their neighbors if they choose to undertake such a task. They may be angry at that statement but hey it is the truth and the risk you take when you want to sue your HOA.

Former HOA President

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Gary,

You cannot control what other individuals do. You can control how you react to what was done.

1) The board is an "all white board".

Not relevant. If the election was properly held, those who received the most votes won. You had an attorney present and overseeing the election. Therefore, there shouldn't be any concern to any challenge to the results.

I would suggest that you not dispose of any ballots, sig-in sheet or proxies associated with that meeting.

2) The Board of Directors has asked her & her spouse to respect the present board

As I said, you can't control what other individuals do.
Give them the respect you expect them to give you (even if you don't get it in return).

2)they both have become verbally aggressive on several occasions and the board has asked them to leave. They refused, so the board motioned to adjourn the unit owners meeting.

It sounds like the situation was handled properly.
By the way, the meeting should be recessed not adjourned.
Once adjourned,the meeting is ended and you technically need to comply with any notice requirements for the next meeting. However, if you recess, you may simply reconvene the meeting once the issue is resolved.

3) They are attempting to suade other unit owners who are considered "minorities" to follow their actions.
That is certainly their right.
Again, you can not control what other individuals do.

4) They have harassed several contractors ---paving company,our present snow plow company, and the summer landscapers.

Harassed how?
Harassed why? (was the board not listening to their complaints?)

5) They are constantly demanding documents and when supplied with them they state that is not what they rquested--etc.

As a member, they are entitled to see the Association records.
I'd suggest that you have all requests for records to be in writing so there is documentation on what they are requesting.

A better method would be to simply put all available documentation on the Associations web site (have sensitive material require a password). This way, the board doesn't have to deal with document requests as it's all available to any member that wants to take the time to look.

6) Several of the board members are concerned about this couples actions.They feel this couple may attempt to file grievances with the commission on discrimination.

Again you can't control what other individuals do. Therefore, why worry about it until it happens. If you are complying with State statutes and your governing documents, there shouldn't be an issue if they do file a grievance.

Tim

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Gary,

As the whitest WASP who ever walked, I have a hard time putting myself in a minority's place. I assume that if you get dumped on enough by the white folks you see everything in racial terms. Unfortunately, there are also those who learn that they can get what they want by playing the race card.

I suspect that if the couple you refer to filed a discrimination complaint that it would go nowhere. Discrimination is difficult to prove and the fact that you are a minority who did not get what he wanted does not equate to discrimination absent some other factors.

One change your association might want to consider is the adoption of proportional voting for directors.

In your last election where there were two seats up for grabs, each voter could cast:
No vote at all;
One vote for candidate A and no vote for candidate B; or
One vote for candidate A and one vote for candidate B.

Under proportional voting, the members could vote:
No vote at all;
One vote for candidate A and no vote for candidate B;
One vote for candidate A and one vote for candidate B; or
Two votes for candidate A and no vote for candidate B.

Proportional voting gives the minority membership a chance for a seat on the board. It has its roots in business corporations where there is often a majority stockholder who could otherwise stuff the board with his own toadies and freeze minority investors out.

Another thing your board can do is to form a committee to study whether your association is discriminating against minorities. Appoint the complainer to the committee but not to chairmanship of the committee. Let the committe do its work and listen to their report when it is done. This country has made great strides in developing color-blind institutions, including HOA's, but there are still individuals of all colors who insist on continuing the race wars of the past. Being an old white guy I am sometimes approached by others of similar discription who throw out the "N-word." I listen quietly and chuckle to myself because I voted for the black guy twice. My point is that there are those on both sides who keep the wars going. You might have more problems than you realize a study may help identify the problems and neutralize them.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By LarryB13 on 03/01/2013 8:31 AM

One change your association might want to consider is the adoption of proportional voting for directors.

I believe that this is called Cumulative Voting.

Prior to adopting cumulative voting you should check your State statutes (HOA/COA/Corporate) to see what requirements, if any, must be complied with.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Tim,

Thanks for the correction. I was having a senior moment when I posted about "proportional voting."

JonD1
Posts: 2,350

Posted:

Just curious Gary how many units make up your property?

And with those units what is your best estimate as to the number that are owned by "white" residents versus minority residents? If you know.

I myself find the use of one's race in many cases as an excuse as to what they are able to obtain disgusting and counterproductive. Reality is people are allowed to vote for whomever they wish and their reasoning is not to be judged by you or anyone else. Nor would you be able to read the minds of those who voted against you.

IF this couple has a real complaint against the Board or property they should work to resolve it without pulling out their ID cards of racial origin. As someone who has a family tree with roots in 6 different countries I have no need to suggest anything I have been unable to do was a consequence of my racial makeup.

Now for them to suggest their loss was a result of white racists, or they now feel the need to join forces with each and every racial minority on the property sounds to me like they are in fact the racists.

When a man who was born with a black Father and white Mother can now be elected to the office of President it would appear to me things are quite different in the attudes of many Amercians towards race. Perahps it might be time for some people to put away that excuse or crutch.

As far as their actions going forward I would contact and hire a local security firm have them provide a security guard(s) for your meetings and if this group disrupts your meeting have them removed. I would not postpone the meeting as a result of their actions. You just gave your power away.

Every property has them. Some are white, some are black, some are hispanic, some male, some female all in the end are PIAs.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Cumulative voting is a type of voting process that helps strengthen the ability of a minority of voters to elect someone. While more prevalent in the corporate world, it also exists in public elections.

My HOA allow Cumulative Voting and it is one thing we are working to remove when we transition for Declarant to Homeowner control.

To the OP. The people are simply unhappy about how things turned out and they are playing the "racist" card. On this chat we often see disgruntled people claiming it was the "old boy" card. Same card, different color.

If your election was fair and honest then tell them to F off.

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