Being a community organizer is one of the most rewarding volunteer tasks any one can do. Charity begins at home, and it is most important that one contributes to the local community in every way - first of all time, volunteer time so while contributing one also learns. Then money to the extent possible, and ideas and suggestions all the time.
Having been a community organizer all my life, I have been organizing groups of all sizes, in three continents, 5 countries and 8 cities. Every where, people are different, but there is a lot of basic similarity.
People are generally fair, with unrealistic demands and expectations, but willing to accept what they receive - so they are always challenging the leaders to do more. Which is good.
Tuesday, May 12th was a memorable day for a small community in Virginia that I am involved with. This is one of the earliest condominium associations in Northern Virginia, about 35 years old with 450 units. Over the years, there have been several problems in that community and when I first drove past it about 10 years ago, my Realtor told me to not to consider buying there and he said it would be best if I drove around and checked it out. I did, but neither did I buy there. A couple of years later, another Realtor showed me a vacant unit, which looked good, the price was good, and so I bought it.
Values almost trebled, and then crashed more than 50%, so it is now about 20% more than what I paid (after 10 years). There are many who bought in the last 3 years and they have lost about half the value of what they paid and now they are true victims of circumstances. They can neither sell, nor make the mortgage payments if something happened in their personal lives and suddenly there is only one (or no) paycheck to make the payments.
Because of years of poor management and age of 35 years, there are several problems in infrastructure, maintenance, processes and so on. The matter is further complicated because it is one of a handful of communities that are registered under the horizontal properties act, and some parts of the condominium act are also incorporated. Irate owners with unrealistic expectations have disagreements with the rules and challenge some in the Court, eventually to lose the case - after the community has spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal defense charges.
"Shoot the Messenger" is best exemplified here, the last few years we have seen a Board that is informed and seriously implementing the rules as they were written. So, there is general unhappiness amongst a section of the community, they break rules and when penalties are imposed, they bitch and scream about it. Obviously, for a section of the community the Board is not effective, and needs to be changed.
An "opposition" came into being, and last year they sent out notices on why the current Board should be impeached and replaced. I went to attend the annual meeting, and boy, was it a riot! Suffice it to say, that this is the most acrimonious and disorganized meeting I have attended in my life! While I liked what the opposition had to say, I voted for the existing Board.
A year passed, and things were still not what they should be. Thanks to the vested interests of Attorneys and Property Management companies, most such associations are badly managed and some form of litigation is always happening - or being instigated in a manner of speaking. So I decided that the only way to fix issues was to run for the Board and make a difference once I was on Board. Just as I was collecting information on the Annual Meeting, I received a candidacy form from a owner who had run the previous year, but dropped out at the last minute in favor of another candidate who was elected to the Board - in three months he wrote to this owner asking that he change his ways of opposition and get involved with the community so he may contribute meaningfully. The candidate did not do a thing about it for 10 months, and then suddenly started a campaign of hate - which worked quite well. Since most of the items stated in the candidature were valid, I decided to support this candidate and make a difference. Hey, if some one is willing to take the lead and run for office, why compete when I can be the power of influence behind him?
The Annual Meeting was canceled due to weather conditions, and the elections had to be rescheduled. They were held May 12th.
Between the canceled meeting of March and the elections in May, more than two months passed. During this period, the Board invited me to join as the Community Conciliation Officer, which I accepted for a trial period of six months. I got involved with the problems and challenges in the community, and got to understand why this community really sucked, and a plan on how to improve matters evolved. The Board is receptive and flexible, they made changes and the Elections were conducted on May 12th.
There were four candidates and two openings on the Board. The present Secretary and Treasurer ran for the office, the candidate previously referred to and another resident owner also ran. The four candidates were each given 6 minutes to speak and answer questions, which they all did. Very interestingly, three of the candidates spoke about what they have done in the past, and what they hope to do in the future. The fourth candidate, the one previously referred to, spoke relevant content briefly and then simply attacked the Board, and expressed his opinion of everything that he thought was wrong. As negative as it could be, and he had a handful of owners cheering him. Needless to say, these are the owners who had major issues with the Board and the Community.
The elections were conducted, and the results came in. The two candidates who had proven their commitment and had contributed to the community were elected. The two who had not, were not. The candidate who worked hardest to get his proxies, and to campaign against the Board came out last. He was totally rejected and walked out a dejected man.
What is the lesson learned from this experience? Even in a small community, it makes a whole lot of difference how one campaigns, and what one does. Our community, the world of Virginia voters, is not to be taken lightly, or for granted. There is only so much one can do to hurt any one, ultimately folks make up their minds based on their own observations, and their own judgment. We are a community willing to give any one, and every one, a second chance. We understand that often decisions are made with some one not necessarily agreeing with the decision, but one has to go along with the decision. That is how the world works. Not every one in the decision process should be hanged for what happened, just because he/she did voice public opposition to developments. Of course if one is an elected official, stand on issues and voting records are public - but this does not happen in businesses, communities and campaigns. Never lose sight of that.
What is the relevance of all this to the most exciting event of 2009? The Virginia Governor Elections? Do not take Virginia voters for granted, treat them with respect, and speak of your own positives, and what you will try to do for the community, and how you will address their concerns.
I have been involved with the McAuliffe campaign for several months now, and observed all the candidates running for this office. Each has a lesson to share, and I have learned a lot - of what to do, and also of what not to do.
I close with an invaluable quote from McAuliffe's father:
"Be nice, try to help everyone, always be positive, and never give up." – Jack McAuliffe