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The following is from one of our bloggers.
Once upon a time there was a community in a town people called "Paradise". This community had a Board of Directors to represent it. This Board made decisions about how to regulate the community. Directors were elected by the residents for one or two year terms. Residents could volunteer to count the mail-in ballots.
One of the two-year term Directors was also Home Builder. Just before election time, word slipped out that he had a considerable number of properties, over 125. This raised a question about whether he could cast a vote for each of those properties. Homeowners stewed over whether this was a conflict of interest or not. Home Builder could definitely control the election's outcome.
Alas, hard times hit Paradise as hard times colored all the the lands that surrounded it. The problem was widespread, depressing everyone's purse. Even Home B felt financial stress. "Foreclose" on those 125+ properties was in his day planner. New homes were not in demand as worker bees could not qualify for mortgages. Unemployment rose to double digits.
Residents loved their piece of Paradise and wanted to maintain a quality lifestyle. Many wanted directors who shared that vision. Most felt that Home Builder would not identify with their needs and feared how his 125+ votes could sway that election.
On the day of the ballot count, a young enthusiastic Director whose responsibility was to run a "clean" election burst into the room where the count was held and loudly blurted out to the Residential Manager: "Has Home Builder paid his delinquent dues on those properties yet?" he demanded earnestly. Manager was appalled at young Director's naivete of publicly sharing the secret about Home Builder. Director, took his arm, pulled him into her office and closed the door.
You see: Home Builder did not pay his dues while all others did; yet, home builder was allowed to cast 125 votes, one for each parcel. Home Builder votes determined the outcome of the election.
Not long after, Home Builder morphed his career into Town government, where he was appointed to serve on Town Council, where he now "hovers around" all General Plan Amendments and all Planning and Zoning decisions.
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This is sad but true.
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