The campaign season in Third Mutual has started in earnest. At the last Third board meeting the candidates for this year were introduced and asked to give a one minute introduction.
This year there are actually two races going on. One is the regular full 3 year terms which are open with the expiration of Moore, Muennichow and Souza. There are four candidates for those three openings.
Lucy Shimon, candidate for a 3 year term, couldn’t be bothered to show up so we didn’t hear from her. Just as well. She doesn’t ever go to board or committee meetings and we wouldn’t want her to be confused too soon.
Moore, is apparently over her temper tantrum in the parking lot of last winter when she stamped her feet, waved her arms and screamed about how much she hated the job because she has announced her glitter candidacy much to the surprise of those who don’t know her very well and believe everything she says. I guess the presidency is a virus and a siren’s call. The funny thing is that I’m sure Moore expects to be president again after this disastrous year of her tenure. Unfortunately for her Kathryn Freshley is making huge footsteps in that direction herself and I’ll lay odds that Freshley is president next year. She has insinuated herself into every single position she has held so far and has taken over every committee on which she sits and some upon which she did not originally serve (the ad hoc committee to find a lien processor for the mutual, for instance.) Chow Tootsie.
Mike Strazuiso threw his hat into the ring. This is the guy who calls board members and spews expletives, screams and in general behaves obnoxiously. One board member finally just put the telephone down on the counter and let the man rave obscenely until he tired of his own voice and finally hung up. He has demonstrated the same behavior at public meetings although not at Friends of the Village where he is a board member and has to mind his Ps and Qs. His arguments are filled with flaws and completely empty. He’ll fit right in with the majority already on the board. He has already said “when” he is a member of the board not “if” or “hopes to be.” Obviously a guy who listens (not).
Dick Palmer is the final candidate for the job. He is the only one who is actually qualified to be a real, functioning board member. His business acumen is high. He is a Mechanical Engineer with HVAC experience who actually was the contractor on Clubhouse 5. He is rational and well reasoned. He is a gentleman and comports himself well both privately and publicly.
For the one year term we have two candidates who are polar opposites. One is Noel Hatch, the perennial board member and co-creator of the management agreement which says we will pay for “any and all” of PCM’s expenses. He is a former member of both Third and GRF boards. He LOST his bid to become a city council member. They even chose Cynthia Conners over him. He was a founding member of “Positive Solutions” which last year had to duplicate the list of members of that group in order to appear larger than it was. He FAILED in the bid to take over the Third Board and the group ultimately morphed into the “Friends of the Village” where they WON’T ANSWER questions if they are controversial and/or they don’t like them. During his minute presentation at the board meeting he mumbled about Pasadena and wandered aimlessly around listening to his own voice. He’s very good at that. He appeared to be having difficulty remembering why he was there and what he was supposed to be doing at the podium. It was clear he felt he didn’t need to actually run for the office. He is a pale shadow of his former self and really belongs back on GRF with all the other has-beens. There he can join the back-slapping self-congratulatory club of egoists squandering money just because they think they can and feel they aren’t answerable to the residents.
The viable candidate is Pat Feeney; a solid presence and rational thinker. She listens and forms her own opinion about issues. She isn’t involved in personalities or ego. She just wants to serve on the board and watch member’s money as somebody, ANYBODY should have been doing all along. She asks reasonable and reasoned questions and isn’t trying to out-glitter or overtake anybody. Ego is not her master. Concern for the community is. She has years of research (library) experience and that alone would benefit the mutual tremendously. Just imagine somebody who can read something, analyze it, extrapolate and use the information properly. What a concept!