Elections grant legitimacy
An elected board of directors has a mantle of
legitimacy that they need to comfortably sit at the board table and
make unpopular decisions.
However, a board that calls AGMs every two or three years, refuses to allow the
owners to examine the corporation's records, neglects basic maintenance
and carries out the
corporation's business in secrecy, lives with the constant threat of a
requisition meeting or an
application for a court-appointed administrator constantly hanging over
their heads.
Holding annual AGMs, even if they are badly marred by fraud, gives the
board legitimacy. Unless the election is overturned by the courts, it is recognized as the legal board.
Oh the hypocrisy
of it all
I attended an AGM where the district manager hammed it up with a big
show of faked enthusiasm because a candidate decided to challenge an
incumbent for a position on the board. "It is so exciting to have an
election." he exclaimed.
Oh sure it was. That is why he had quietly collected a dozen proxies
from the commercial units and had the superintendent go door-to-door
collected proxies from all the seniors to make insure that the
incumbent couldn't lose.
However, he got want he wanted. A good show of democracy without the
worry of an outsider having a hope in hell of winning a position on the
board.
The stink gets worse.
Whenever his company has successfully fended off a
legitimate challenge to a condo board, by improperly denying owners
their rights to vote, the owner of a small property management company sends
the owners a letter thanking them for their continued support.
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