Ok, we are 4 days into the campaign and things are getting NASTY! The old man (CF) has decided he doesn't have to follow the rules set down by election committee because I think he can't remember them. So far he has published a campaign flyer with the logo of Harbour Square in a prominent position and posted on the community bulletin board. He has also publicly admonished me for "electioneering" at the gatehouse...which is not against the rules.
The election committee has been decimated because the only non-board member has resigned saying that her job finished after the candidates' forum. The candidates forum went fairly well. Although there were 10 candidates, everyone got their say. The moderator kept statements to 3 minutes and questions and answers were kept to one minute each. Most questions were for all the panelists so there was a pass the microphone down the line kind of procedure There was also a groundswell of hope for community involvement and openness of governance that were 2 of my main planks. The 3 standing board members had their feet held to the fire more than once. Only once was really wrong information given to the public by a panel member. He was corrected in due course by both audience and other panelists. (Guess who?)
Tonight we have our informal "meet and greet" where alcohol meets politics I hate this part. Although I probably do better at this kind of thing where I can respond to inquiries instead of get up and sell myself, the personal interaction is painful for me. I always feel so awkward and silly looking. What do I do with my hands? Should I drink beer or wine? Will my blood sugar plummet and make me stupid? What if no one wants to talk to me? My back is hurting and I have to stand all night, will I be able to keep a smile on my face? How do I correct the other guy's lies without making him look like a fool?
I just want to make this a better place to live I want to make sure that the management is doing its job. I want to make sure that the board is organized and professional and responsive to the community. I want to give everyone who wants to volunteer a chance to contribute. Is that naive?
Harbour Square was granted Historic Status today by the DC Historic Preservation Review Board. In their comments, they stated they would like to establish Southwest Modernist District. After hearing a lecture on Tuesday evening by speakers Richard Longstreth, of George Washington University, and Todd Ray, of Studio Twenty Seven Architecture, I feel the significance of our neighborhood deserves that designation.
Did you know this was the first planned integrated housing in the United States? Beyond that the areas of openness combined with mixed high-rise and low-rise buildings make it unique. It was a major laboratory of modern architecture and landscape design in the 1960's. According to Longstreth Southwest is the "fullest and richest manifestation of modernist design in the world." The only other intact area left is Lafayette Park in Detroit. Unfortunately, not everyone at Harbour Square agrees and that is going to be the next big fight.....Sigh.
28 February 2013
23 February 2013
I forgot to talk about one aspect of the run for the Board of Directors that I am not looking forward to one bit. On 23 August of 2010, I wrote a long blog about about a cranky old man who was giving me grief about my roof garden. Guess who is running for the Board? Thought you might want to check him out. He hasn't improved with the years but he has managed to get quite a following by quoting lots of figures and folder-all from his time as an Army Missile contractor. Now I would call him the "Crazy F*^k".
Oh, and my garden on the west end? VP, the Queen Bee, of the Board, another candidate, had it hauled off as being an obstruction in the dead of night and wouldn't allow the management to tell me where it was for 2 months. All the apple trees and blueberries died and I have never gotten my trellises back. She used the removal of that garden as an excuse to dismantle a lovely garden that had been assembled on the empty roof of the 510 Building and now the only people farming on the roof are the Queen Bee and "CF"
To see the original posting go back to the date above or copy and paste the address below. Someday I will figure out how to do a link. maybe I did!
.http://didoesdc.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-stupid-fk.html
Now I really have to do my flyers for tomorrow
Oh, and my garden on the west end? VP, the Queen Bee, of the Board, another candidate, had it hauled off as being an obstruction in the dead of night and wouldn't allow the management to tell me where it was for 2 months. All the apple trees and blueberries died and I have never gotten my trellises back. She used the removal of that garden as an excuse to dismantle a lovely garden that had been assembled on the empty roof of the 510 Building and now the only people farming on the roof are the Queen Bee and "CF"
To see the original posting go back to the date above or copy and paste the address below. Someday I will figure out how to do a link. maybe I did!
.http://didoesdc.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-stupid-fk.html
Now I really have to do my flyers for tomorrow
22 February 2013
Why I Run...How to Campaign
It is that time of year again. Harbour Square Elections are just around the corner. I have decided to run for the Board of Directors for the 3rd time since I moved in in the fall of 2008. Why do I continue to expose myself to this kind of exquisite abuse? I have been asking myself this question all week. I need to come up with my campaign slogan and get my letter written to the membership this weekend if I stand any kind of chance and yet my thoughts are still so muddled and confused.
I did choose my business card logo. I have been introducing myself and handing them out at the gatehouse in the evenings this week. I have 3 owls on a branch. I guess because I will always be watching and thinking. But that is as far as I have gotten. Maybe if I think out loud I can make some sense of why I want to do this thing.
I know what I do NOT want. I do not want more of what we have had for the last 2 years. We have had a board of directors that has thrived in secrecy and absolute power. They have abolished all volunteer committees and taken over all functions of our once thriving and cooperative cooperative. No longer is there a feeling of consensus building and community. All we have is fear and mistrust. We live in a prison like atmosphere where a few, very few, rule the roost like a fox guarding the hen house. The management has driven off any kind or well meaning employee and all the rest must report any exchange with a resident to the management or be reprimanded.
Even though we are located in the District of Columbia, we were incorporated in Delaware so our Board insists we don't need to follow the laws of either State or District. They are a rouge entity unto themselves. They hold executive sessions where no minutes are kept and important decisions are made that will affect our coop for years to come. For instance they voted to back the waterfront development in a secret meeting They also negotiated the contract with the management company in secret with the terms and prices kept secret from the board who was asked to vote on the contract with out the terms being know to all but the President. No copies of the contract were available for review by anyone. The board also regularly has sessions that constitute a quorum where business is conducted that are not announced and business is conducted that have no minutes kept even though both Delaware and DC law say this is not right.
What I do want to have is a cooperative that is based on open meetings that adhere to the letter of the law. I want to have a board that welcomes input from the owners and incorporates that input into every decision. I want to be a member of the board that does my research to be knowledgeable about every issue that the board is confronted with. I would hope that instead of getting the board books on Friday before a meeting, we would get an informational book at the Tuesday working session the week before the board meeting. I would like to see more owners attend the working sessions and have break out groups where group participation could take advantage of the great wealth of knowledge we have here at Harbour Square. It could be known as brainstorming night where no idea would be too off the wall to be considered. If it is good enough for the Army, surely it will work for us.
I am a member of CAI (Community Associations Institute), I have worked as a facilitator for the Army Family Team Building Program, I have written constitutions and bylaws for organizations ranging from Officers' Wives' groups to bringing churches current with state law, I have read and understand the DC and Delaware laws governing the common interests and ownership of real estate.
Basically, we all just want to live our lives and be left alone. Too many rules can bankrupt a community. Look at the case in Fairfax's Olde Bellehaven community.
Feud over sign could force Fairfax's Olde Belhaven to sell square
All that happened over 2 inches on a sign. I don't want that to happen to Harbour Square. With some of the shenanigans that our current and past 2 year's board have pulled, there have been distinct opportunities for exactly this kind of action to have happened here. With 6 openings on the board due to resignations and departures, Harbour Square has a unique opportunity to go a different direction. We have got to go forward into the future. Our best assets are our grounds, our roof, and our people. Although the new landscape master plan is a beginning, in past years we have neglected our grounds, squandered our roof , and lost a bunch of people. Let's not continue.
I did choose my business card logo. I have been introducing myself and handing them out at the gatehouse in the evenings this week. I have 3 owls on a branch. I guess because I will always be watching and thinking. But that is as far as I have gotten. Maybe if I think out loud I can make some sense of why I want to do this thing.
I know what I do NOT want. I do not want more of what we have had for the last 2 years. We have had a board of directors that has thrived in secrecy and absolute power. They have abolished all volunteer committees and taken over all functions of our once thriving and cooperative cooperative. No longer is there a feeling of consensus building and community. All we have is fear and mistrust. We live in a prison like atmosphere where a few, very few, rule the roost like a fox guarding the hen house. The management has driven off any kind or well meaning employee and all the rest must report any exchange with a resident to the management or be reprimanded.
Even though we are located in the District of Columbia, we were incorporated in Delaware so our Board insists we don't need to follow the laws of either State or District. They are a rouge entity unto themselves. They hold executive sessions where no minutes are kept and important decisions are made that will affect our coop for years to come. For instance they voted to back the waterfront development in a secret meeting They also negotiated the contract with the management company in secret with the terms and prices kept secret from the board who was asked to vote on the contract with out the terms being know to all but the President. No copies of the contract were available for review by anyone. The board also regularly has sessions that constitute a quorum where business is conducted that are not announced and business is conducted that have no minutes kept even though both Delaware and DC law say this is not right.
What I do want to have is a cooperative that is based on open meetings that adhere to the letter of the law. I want to have a board that welcomes input from the owners and incorporates that input into every decision. I want to be a member of the board that does my research to be knowledgeable about every issue that the board is confronted with. I would hope that instead of getting the board books on Friday before a meeting, we would get an informational book at the Tuesday working session the week before the board meeting. I would like to see more owners attend the working sessions and have break out groups where group participation could take advantage of the great wealth of knowledge we have here at Harbour Square. It could be known as brainstorming night where no idea would be too off the wall to be considered. If it is good enough for the Army, surely it will work for us.
I am a member of CAI (Community Associations Institute), I have worked as a facilitator for the Army Family Team Building Program, I have written constitutions and bylaws for organizations ranging from Officers' Wives' groups to bringing churches current with state law, I have read and understand the DC and Delaware laws governing the common interests and ownership of real estate.
Basically, we all just want to live our lives and be left alone. Too many rules can bankrupt a community. Look at the case in Fairfax's Olde Bellehaven community.
Feud over sign could force Fairfax's Olde Belhaven to sell square
All that happened over 2 inches on a sign. I don't want that to happen to Harbour Square. With some of the shenanigans that our current and past 2 year's board have pulled, there have been distinct opportunities for exactly this kind of action to have happened here. With 6 openings on the board due to resignations and departures, Harbour Square has a unique opportunity to go a different direction. We have got to go forward into the future. Our best assets are our grounds, our roof, and our people. Although the new landscape master plan is a beginning, in past years we have neglected our grounds, squandered our roof , and lost a bunch of people. Let's not continue.
03 February 2013
Snow
There is a little snow fluttering down this afternoon. Not enough to disrupt anything and not enough for my tastes. I love the snow. I love the way it blanks out all the evil and ugly things in life. Eva Cassidy is playing on the radio. "The balm that heals the sin sick soul." That is how I feel about snow. It covers the earth with its healing cover and all looks whole and bright again. Anything is possible on a snowy night. There is a luminosity of light captured that emanates from fresh fallen snow. Is it hope? Is it peace?
Eva Cassidy is one of my favorite artists. She was born here in Washington, DC in 1963 and passed from this life in Bowie, Md in 1996, the year I moved back to DC. . Yesterday would have been her 50th birthday. She had a lovely voice. Her recordings continue to be released. You can find out more about her at her webpage: http://evacassidy.org/eva/. As is usual with many artists, Eva was revered in the UK and Australia. This web site in England is also a wonderful tribute. www.oaksite.co.uk/bioblue.html
OK, I think I successfully added a song by Eva to the blog as well. I'm learning. I meant to do it after this posting but it may appear before. I'm learning.
Eva Cassidy is one of my favorite artists. She was born here in Washington, DC in 1963 and passed from this life in Bowie, Md in 1996, the year I moved back to DC. . Yesterday would have been her 50th birthday. She had a lovely voice. Her recordings continue to be released. You can find out more about her at her webpage: http://evacassidy.org/eva/. As is usual with many artists, Eva was revered in the UK and Australia. This web site in England is also a wonderful tribute. www.oaksite.co.uk/bioblue.html
OK, I think I successfully added a song by Eva to the blog as well. I'm learning. I meant to do it after this posting but it may appear before. I'm learning.
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