TLPOA is finally have an election for the Board. The power group (yes. the same three that brought you community politics, discord, and chaos) wants to make sure you DON’T vote but instead give them your vote as a Proxy.
They will tell you that they have done a fine job, are better at this than you, and a vitally concerned about your welfare. They will pressure you to give them your vote. They a politicians and what they lack in character they make up for in patronizing you.
The truth is more like that they have floundered around in indecision without a plan, have shown no leadership, are doing a worse job than you would ever do, and don’t really give a damn about you,
After all, it is all about them.
It is their need to have authority, power, and public acclaim. Their need to be recognized, that is part of their lives that is missing, they need to be somebody, that drives the whole thing.
It is easy to be a big fish if you find a small enough pond – and TLOPA with only about 200 members is such a pond.
My advice is to learn about what is going on and VOTE FOR YOUR SELF! Even if you are not sure, do it yourself.
Why take this advice from someone as noisy me?
Simple, as citizen you owe it to your community and yourself not to be stooge of some who says nice things to you. You need to be an honest full unique human being, and you can’t to that by giving away you vote.
Tag: HOA
Resistance is Futile
On Saturday the TLPOA had its big annual meeting and it was a great show. We were to be taught a lesson for not supporting the political side of the community, but it didn’t quite work out as planned. We were not assimilated, not this time anyway.
Rick Thompson organized his people for a major attack on the community. Carefully managed, his minions were well prepared and briefed from meeting the night before. This was to be a follow up of the April meeting as an attack on those who wanted to update the By-Laws and clean up the growth of TLPOA proxy voting manipulation. Rick had to stop this effort or they couldn’t deliver the BIG SURPRISE and teach us the lesson we must learn.
Why all this effort on the By-Laws? Simple – election reform would stop his plans. There is desperation in the need to retain power. He and his side-kick Greg as well as minions personally pitched home owners by phone and visits to get “NO” votes for the By-Laws reform and give their proxy vote to his political party members.
THE SURPRISE – Was that after not running for the open election, Rick chose the invisible door and ran a completely secret scheme to be Treasurer again. A Secret Write-in supported in secret by his minions and proxies (too bad this included the Chairman). He is desperate to control the money but the real purpose was to teach us that he commands the voting here in Travis Landing.
If he won, then it would be clear to all that he doesn’t need to go through the standard voting process anymore. He believes he has enough followers and proxies that he and he alone can choose who is on the Board of Directors and thus what the community does. He no longer needs to be a member of the Board to run the Board. In the end, the voting majority on the Board owes their jobs to Rick’s Proxies.
Total anonymity with no accountability and total power – how perfect can you get? What kind of a mind needs that?
The real eye-opener is the poor Chairman/President who sacrificed his integrity to protect Rick in last year’s lawyer issues.
On Saturday hopefully even this naive young man began to realize that he has no real power on the Board, he can be out-voted now, even removed by the will of Richard Thompson.
And now we sit back and watch this madness proceed. I wonder who the new appointees will be? I have more on this coming, stay tuned.
Proxy
A Proxy is defined as the “authority or power to act for another”. Obtaining and voting a proxy is not illegal or unethical and is a well viewed and reviewed democratic procedure.
The conditions and issues that make it relevant to our HOA revolves around the questionable act of soliciting proxies for political purpose.
In the 2016 Annual Election of the TLPOA Board our community was introduced to the political use of Proxy voting.
A political party was created by Dick Thompson for the purpose of gaining control over the Travis Landing Property Owners Association. The political party offered a complete list of party recommended persons running for positions on the Board of Directors. The party acted as a single entity organized to solicitate votes both personally and remotely using tactical deployed groups of party individuals under a common leadership with a common goal.
This was a classic political organized solicitation supported by propaganda, use of rumors and mud slinging, and misdirection while fostering cronyism, favoritism, and rewards for followers. Essentially it became the Party versus the People. Although of highly questionable ethical nature and on the edge, it was and is not illegal.
It is the American Way of Politics.
The reaction you see amongst your neighbors to this is the reaction to the transition from a custodial view of the HOA to the Political view of the HOA.
As the Party was successful in its actions in 2016 there is no reason to change its tactics. The problems with the Special Meeting Election are a replay of the political power issues of the 2016 election.
Everything takes time and slowly the community is becoming sensitive to the politicalization of its democracy.
But the Party is alive, kicking, and still wants to rule. That is why it exists.
Suspended Democracy – The King is back
As noted in our September entry to this blog, our President Greg di Donato had a terrible time in front of the ‘guests’, that is you and I attending (we are a guest in his house of power and not recognized as the source of his power). His ‘force of will’ did not prevail, even King Dick threw him under the bus (on the phone), he was yelled down by everyone there. He was wrong and the will of the people swept through.
What is most remarkable is the record of all this was destroyed and no one was told (more of the the Friends-type transparency). Our technology-hip President set up the recording and checked it before the meeting, later he told the Secretary that the recording was blank. She had nothing to do with this ‘Nixon Moment’ but it saved Greg. Should I wonder what happened? Where is Duane when a real scam is pulled off in front of him? Oh I forgot, he says that Greg is a man of great character.
Second item is that I see his Majesty, King Dick, is back in town. Have I seen him? No. Have I heard him, oh yes. I received a classic Thompson self-promoting email telling us how great he is, how he single handedly can save us each $17.45 a month on our garbage bill. Our champion!
Gosh, no mention about how Dick’s Dream Team and associates are disintegrating, how he is losing control of his minions, how his actions directly have created a leaderless governing body for us. How this has generally exacerbated the mess we have which he created before you put him in office. How he has used the process to gain power and position. These are all classic moves from a little book written about 500 years ago by Niccolo Machiavelli called “The Prince”. You should read Dick’s playbook so you know what is coming next.
All we hear is how great he is, how we need him (this reminds me of the movie ‘V for Vendetta’, same leadership style). If you missed it don’t worry, you will get a lot more of it from him as he tries to save face – again.
Meanwhile democracy is suspended here in Travis Landing, no more meetings means no public pressure on our boys. Have you learned anything about politics and voting in this community? Perhaps you will wake up, it is happening to our whole country now. Is there a real difference between ‘the Donald’ and ‘the Dick’ or is this the national Dunning-Kruger effect in action?
Board On The Run
Sung to the Paul McCartney tune “Band on the Run” that is what we have, a Board on the Run. I waited to talk about this until it had matured a bit.
Running from what you ask?
The Febuary Board meeting 25 of your neighbors signed and delivered a petition to the Board for a special meeting to discuss a problem. This is all in exact compliance with the By-Laws and the State Property Codes. It was essentially ignored.
The Lord of the Board and his minion the President decided that they didn’t believe the signatures because they know that everyone loves our Board and no one would complain. They had the Secretary of the Board call each person and confirm their signing. That delaying tactic came to an end when everyone stood by their signatures.
The next tactic was to cancel Board Meetings so the Board didn’t have to hear the petition/complaint and take action. I look at this as spray-painting the transparency that the King claimed the last Board lacked.
How many of you knew such a petition to the Board had been posted? I can still hear The Queen yelling ‘transparency’ for the election a year ago. I doubt that the whole Board even knows this is going on.
Now they have turned on Duane the Inquisitor,oh-oh,change in title – The King wanted a change in tactics, now it is to be the “Beguiler” just like the King and and the Prime Minister (look it Up) rather than the Star Chamber. This is to work on the TLPOA Forums to create FUD (that is Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) to dilute and obfuscate the issue and make it go away.
These are the are all Standard Operating Procedures for King Rick and his Prime Minister Greg, but most of you know the tricks by now and are willing to wait them out.
So when you hear that there is no business to conduct and Board meetings are not needed, know that you have again been intentionally misinformed. Let’s get the right word in here, LIED to by persons of very questionable character; the Friends you gave control of your community to.
Do you feel any responsibility?
July 11 Board Meeting. WTF?
Last night was quite a ruckus at the TLPOA Board Meeting. Key items were:
1 – The Queen wasn’t able to join the King in ruling the Board. In a tricky maneuver the King was going to get his wife,the Queen, on the Board without a vote last night – but the plan was foiled as others decided to run forcing a vote. The Queen began exorcising her power before she got the job – she fired Jamie Neal from the Oak Wilt Committee out of vengeance, she now wants to put chains and cement posts up at the Park Beach so no one can park and block her view, she wants . . she wants . . she wants. And in the back of the Meeting in the Peanut gallery she openly bad-rapped every one who spoke that she didn’t like in an open voice. Get on her bad side in this neighborhood and you are doomed, she is above the social rules now and she is married to the King. I wonder where the final power really is?
2 – Real control of the meeting was clearly in the hands of The King. The pretense of the President (Prime Minister?) is fading quickly and Rick always has been the leader of the pack because he is driven to control. Tonight was clearly his coming out night, though he expected to have Kathy on the board with him to celebrate the complete victory – four years of hard work driven by revenge.
3 – We had an “appeal” from Duane. It turned out to be the haranguing (and scaled up to harassing quickly) of Margie,of the Tech Committee, for not letting him write what he wants on the forums. You really need to listen to this on the audio – you will be appalled. For us guests this was a bit nerve racking because every time Duane did not get what he wanted, his rage expanded and three times he put his hand on the gun he carries concealed in his back waistband. Disturbing, but most disturbing was that the man in charge and his first stooge did nothing to defend Margie in light of Duane’s bad conduct. They did nothing to unite the board, nothing to support her, no sign of a ‘team’ here.
Finally two other Board members got fed up with it all and began to speak up on behalf of Margie and the Board.
Bravo Rex and Larry for standing up.
Boo to Rick and Greg for fading back and making her take on Duane alone. True politicians! You waited until someone else took action and then ran to the head of the parade to get the credit. All three of them – Rick, Greg, and Duane seem to have problems with women who don’t do what they want.
So it was quite a night! We almost got a Queen, the King is showing his power hand, and two gentlemen appear to bring order out of chaos.
It’s not over folks but only beginning. Two months ago I was going to close this site out of a lack of material, now the Board is hard at work with inner politics and intrigue, wheels inside wheels, and we are just starting on the Deed Restrictions. It will be an interesting year.
I went to an illegal TLPOA Board Meeting – or the end of Democracy
Last night I attended an illegal secret TLPOA Board Meeting. You knew nothing about it.
No notice had be given to the community, I was the only non-Friends person there – I found out 8 minutes before the start time and rushed there see it happen.
The law says they have to notify the community at least 72 hours before a meeting and post an agenda that the community was able to add to. No such thing happened.
President di Donato said they announced at the Annual Meeting, that means only the people present then knew anything about it.
Duane Dobson was silent, so was Rick. Had this been a meeting run by a woman President they would have burned the place down. Rick and his two stooges had the day but nothing they voted on there mattered because the votes were illegal.
Stay tuned.
The Accounting Fiasco
Last year the people who took over the Board ran on having an audit. Rick Thompson was sure that only his bookkeeping system would work and wanted to prove it. The prior volunteer property owner Auditor from before told us to go to QuickBooks and not his homemade system (but engineers know everything). The expected financial Audit for 2015/2016 that they threatened Rona Thornton with never materialized. Nothing happened for a year.
Apparently, just before the meeting last month they paid for a secret audit and repair of QuickBooks – it seems they were a mess.
Last week Rick Thompson reveals the audit and knowing that the best defence is an offence, and protecting his #1 Stooge Greg, launches a propaganda attack and blames the problems on Rona Thornton, the previous Treasurer who replaced Rick and was then driven off the Board by the President’s verbal abuse (also causing 5 board members to quit in protest).
The minutes from the October 2016 Board Meeting tells us that the President took the books over and rebuilt them to fit his view of the accounting world. And he did this for your benefit. His replacement Treasurer (Stephany Copland)does nothing and says nothing. Since then we have gotten crazy financial reports which culminated with a statement at the Annual Meeting that we spent more than we took in. Totally wrong!
Rick’s chest beating belittling of Rona was clearly the result of the President’s 8 months of messing with the books from Sept ’16 to May ’17. Once this was pointed out to Rick he decided that he had better things to do so he cut and ran.
What is wrong with these people? In my opinion, this is part of a planned power play. A need to appear important in this little community and gain respect.
I was on the Nominating Committee and our work was halted by someone behind the scenes so we never got a chance to execute our marketing plan or walk the streets in the hunt for a Treasurer and prospective nominees for empty Board positions. One member of the community came to me volunteering to run for Treasurer and then suddenly withdrew. Then Thompson came along at the last minute to save the day, what a hero – but I think the whole thing was a piece of drama and theater for our community to view. It was planned and engineered – who could have done that?
Where is Duane when you need him? He would have been all over the last Board if they did this. But of course that was a Board run by a woman, not his favorite men.
Come to the next Board Meeting to see this show plays out.
Beguiling important people in our community.
I know you all are coming to respect and honor Duane Dobson, Travis Landing’s now favorite stooge of Dick Thompson and supporter of “Everything is Beautiful ” President di Donato. These three are like peas in a pod, I have seen the happy Christmas Party photos proving to us it is all love and kisses.
So I thought it might be a good idea to let you know what Duane says to me in private. Here are two emails I received from him.
#1 – “First line of a joke
A durkhfall and a dumb cop where walking down a road – -”
The “dumb cop” is Charley Neal, my walking partner in the mornings, and durkhfall is German for ‘diarrhea’.
Here is a correction from him-
“durchfall is the German word for diarrhea
durkhfall is Yiddish slang for a flop or a failure. The fact that you got it wrong validates my choice. D
Here is one about Rona and I –
#2 – “Barry You could make a buck with your blog by running classified ads. EXAMPLE
Husband’s ship did not come in! Wolf is at the door and I must work to feed family! Overweight, old, uneducated, unskilled yenta seek high paying job. Please reply this blog with offers.”
I understand his need for inaccuracies, they are the basis of his ‘humor’.
It is my hope you start to understand that what di Donato and Thompson are telling you is driven by their common need to gain respect and cover up what they and their minions have done to this community. It is all propaganda perpetrated by some very sad people.
It won’t stop, they desperately seek redemption by making you think they are not what they really are. The power of soft talk, faked empathy, beguiling conversation, telling you what you want to hear, is all a con-job. Are you sophisticated enough to tell the truth from the acting? Or are you truly naive and want to believe what you hear.
WOW- hot new news, is it Dick Nixon or Dick Thompson – are there missing minutes on the tape of the Feb Board Meeting about my comments on the failure of the Nominating Committee? The Board better circle its wagons quickly. More later and more about Dick and his move to appear to be the savior of the community by becoming Treasurer, it may have been planned all the time to make him look good in your eyes while increasing his control and power.
Didn’t Expect To Be Back So Soon
Hello, I have gotten inquiries as to what happened to this Blog. Right after the Annual Board meeting I took all the old entries down out of respect for a ‘new board’, I didn’t think I needed to say anything about it.
Today my walking partner and I passed Duane who stopped us and with great hand jesters said ‘Maggie 2 – Barry 0″ and did his snicker. Neither of us had any idea what he meant and went on walking. We then passed Maggie with the biggest grin you could imagine.
Then it hit me, of course they (Dick, Maggie, and Duane) thought they had chased me off with the threat of a Cease and Desist Order and were enjoying their victory. Victory that is in cutting off what they don’t want you to hear. After all, ‘TRANSPARENCY’ is still their mantra, just listen to Dick.
Thank you, Duane, Maggie, Greg, and Dick. You are wrong. Your conduct requires a vigilant eye and this blog has not gone away. Had not Duane spoken it would have remained blank. Eventually you will provided me with more material, but again I want to give the New Board a fair hearing first.
As for Stooge #1, constant and persistent apologies at the meeting make clear his ineptitude, but then the Three Stooges will continue to follow the Master. I see that mail in ballots were found at the postal box, neither the Secretary nor the Treasurer checked the mail before the Ballot counting. Not enough to void the election but just a sign of the times with the Board Officers. Oh yea, maybe we should get a audio system that works reliably, please check with Tom at the Yacht Club, I designed, built, and installed a great one there.
In closing let me make a guess and say that we will see Maggie back on the Board a the next meeting so that the Stooges can ride again.
More as the New Board gives me more material to write about. I am sure it will be soon.
Thank you for your support.