BOD refusing owner from running for BOD position

Started by ToniP4 • 7 replies • 362 views

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ToniP4 (Georgia)
Posts: 4

Posted:

Hi, Wondering if a BOD can refuse a potential candidate from running in upcoming elections. According to the BOD, this candidate started an online social media group, for other owners to talk, and be updated on things. The BOD doesn't want members talking. They refused to accept her letter of candidacy. The refusal letter was delivered after the call for nominations expired, making it impossible to find a replacement. The current BOD consists of 3 people, 2 of the BOD are married, and are controlling everything, not allowing owners access to minutes, member list, etc. The development has been inactive for 12 years, and property values are down, way down. there are no homes built, and none on the horizon because any committees only have BOD members on them, such as ARC, and CCR's. They won't let you on any committee unless you are a builder or real estate agent. Thank you for any advice, this is Georgia, and they don't follow the by laws, they follow Georgia code

WendyM5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 1,522

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ToniP4 on 12/19/2022 6:51 PM
Hi, Wondering if a BOD can refuse a potential candidate from running in upcoming elections. According to the BOD, this candidate started an online social media group, for other owners to talk, and be updated on things. The BOD doesn't want members talking. They refused to accept her letter of candidacy. The refusal letter was delivered after the call for nominations expired, making it impossible to find a replacement. The current BOD consists of 3 people, 2 of the BOD are married, and are controlling everything, not allowing owners access to minutes, member list, etc. The development has been inactive for 12 years, and property values are down, way down. there are no homes built, and none on the horizon because any committees only have BOD members on them, such as ARC, and CCR's. They won't let you on any committee unless you are a builder or real estate agent. Thank you for any advice, this is Georgia, and they don't follow the by laws, they follow Georgia code

read your bylaws and then contact a lawyer. most bylaws have away for people to vote out the current board.

my hoa's bylaws require 50% of members to vote out the directors, might as well be 100% because of how apathetic the neighborhood is. Bylaws stacked against memberships are quite common and annoying.

but not allowing membership nominations is deffinetely fishy sounding and a court could per haps require an election, but even then you must have the votes to win and meet quorum. if you can't meet quorum then you are screwed too.

vis ta vie

ToniP4 (Georgia)
Posts: 4

Posted:

Thanks Wendy for the reply. Problem is, there is a handful of lot owners that are vocal and see problems with this BOD. I don't think we can get enough votes to remove them. We are trying. They NEVER follow the by laws, and I have questioned them, only to be directed to Georgia Code for non profit. The by laws state we are to have inspector for the election, their answer is they are using an online voting service and we don't need inspectors. Our by laws do not state we can use online voting and I mentioned we need to vote to change that process. They make resolutions without member approval, it's a nightmare.

NA1 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 190

Posted:

Law in some states explicit allows evoting.

Also some bylaws state qualifications like must be current on fees. What do yours say?

WendyM5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 1,522

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By ToniP4 on 12/19/2022 7:42 PM
Thanks Wendy for the reply. Problem is, there is a handful of lot owners that are vocal and see problems with this BOD. I don't think we can get enough votes to remove them. We are trying. They NEVER follow the by laws, and I have questioned them, only to be directed to Georgia Code for non profit. The by laws state we are to have inspector for the election, their answer is they are using an online voting service and we don't need inspectors. Our by laws do not state we can use online voting and I mentioned we need to vote to change that process. They make resolutions without member approval, it's a nightmare.

They Don t need member approval to make resolutions unfortunately

vis ta vie

ToniP4 (Georgia)
Posts: 4

Posted:

Thank you for the reply. Yes are bylaws state fees must be paid prior to 30 days, and she was paid and current. As far as evoting for Georgia (a) Unless limited or prohibited by the articles or bylaws, or unless this chapter requires a greater number of affirmative votes, action required or permitted by this chapter to be approved by the members may be approved without a meeting of members if the action is approved by members holding at least a majority of the voting power.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

There are a few circumstances where a homeowner may be ineligible to serve on the board - for example, if they're delinquent on their assessments. There are also a few states/communities that require the use of a nominating committee that can act as a gatekeeper. But your governing documents would have to spell these things out. As far as I can tell, they are not the norm, and some states actually have laws against the use of nominating committees because they can be misused.

In practice, if your bylaws allow owners to nominate themselves from the floor at the annual meeting, there isn't anything a board could do to stop them without making a stink in public. That could be useful in the long run for the folks who want to remove and replace the current board. (One of the big challenges of replacing the board is convincing enough homeowners that there is a problem and that they personally should do something about it. The apathy is real. This can mean a multi-year effort to accomplish your goal.)

ToniP4 (Georgia)
Posts: 4

Posted:

This BOD well the 2 married ones are very slick, they made sure the elections were done prior to the annual meeting, making it hard for the candidate not allowed to run to nominate herself, or others. Thank you for your reply, it really helps to see other suggestions for sure. Last BOD meeting, was a month ago, and it was the first one, where we lot owners (no homes built in 16 years yet) were allowed to attend via zoom, but we were muted, no questions could be asked. They really make sure they have all control.

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