The Banning of Craig Smith - HOA silences critic asking hard Questions

Here is my take on the silencing of Craig Smith, laid out in my letter to the HOA:

(Click the link at the end of my letter to read the email that got Smith banned)

December 18, 2018

Dear Paul, 

“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging” - The first law of holes.

I have seen the letter the HOA sent Craig Smith putting a freeze on communication with him (well, more accurately, the HOA is now going to officially ignore his questions). I also hear he is banned from attending the upcoming AGM.

These actions have the strong smell of the HOA wanting to avoid answering the hard questions he is asking.

It is alarming that the HOA, which until recently was running smoothly, has turned into an aberration bent on clamping down on dissenting views.

Craig Smith’s crime of not being on the title of the home he shares with his wife (the title holder) is a flimsy pretext to ban him.  We all know that this ownership strategy is often used for legal/financial reasons by married couples. But it conveniently serves the HOA’s ends. In reality, he still no less of a homeowner than any us, whatever label the HOA chooses to pin on him.

The hypocrisy of the HOA's new found respect for the Constitution is breathtaking. On one hand, the HOA is happy to use it to silence Smith yet on the other hand the HOA is seemingly intent on making what are major changes to the Design Guidelines. Changes that those involved in the original drafting agree are not "minor" -  the only type of changes allowed in the same Constitution.

That the HOA has the brazenness to also throw in the accusation that Smith has, most likely, “historically not acted in good faith” is mudslinging. The HOA knows that Smith has devoted many hours of his time to Thesen Islands helping to sort out the Parkland Trust mess, served on many portfolio committees, created a jogging & walking track around the Islands and who knows what else.

I hardly know Smith but looking from a distance over the last few years, he has shown selfless commitment to Thesen Islands. Thesen Islands could really do with more Craig Smith type individuals and less carpetbaggers and schemers looking out only for themselves. That he has been pushed out from any role on Thesen Islands says everything about the pushers. What it says about Smith is that he is a man who wouldn't back down even when subjected to long bullying.

(I realize that I, too, may have a charge of "bad faith" levelled against me as my wife is guilty of illegally attending many AGM's, starting with the first one when I was likely serving as a trustee. She also recently illegally co-signed a letter we wrote to HOA. I have cautioned her to avoid any future illegal activities.)

Further to the upcoming AGM,  as the HOA will likely claim banning Smith is all about good governance and nothing to do with a cover up, all spouses in similar positions (such as my wife) will, of course, be banned from attending.

I urge the HOA to publicize this in advance. This will avoid ugly scenes of spouses, used to attending the AGM, being removed, perhaps even forcibly by our security personnel. Please keep in mind that many will be senior citizens so gentle handling is called for. (Images of the White Shirts evicting the EFF from Parliament.)

I also expect that the HOA will have on file, and available for inspection, the registered representative statements for those representing Trusts, companies, etc., as required by the Constitution.

Getting back to the questions asked by Smith in his email that appear to be the catalyst in his silencing.  These questions must be answered.  The issues raised go to the core of good governance and the legality of decisions taken by the HOA. Banning Smith doesn't make them go away. In fact, quite the opposite. They make the answers even more eagerly awaited.

If the HOA wants to rescue its credibility, it needs to answer Smith’s questions promptly (before the AGM) with substantiating documents. And apologize to Smith. That is the only way to put to rest this latest HOA fiasco. See the “First law of holes” above.

While browsing the Constitution to see the clause used to ban Smith, I happened to come across that the minutes of all trustee's meetings  must be made available for inspection. I noticed recently that the HOA had stopped, for many years, posting the minutes on the HOA website. 

Can the HOA make a start of correcting this oversight by posting the minutes of, say, the meetings held to date in 2018? Doing this before the AGM would serve the interests of members.

I have interrupted my wilderness retreat to write this letter. It is long and was difficult to write on my phone. But I couldn't ignore this travesty any longer. The only positive is that it has made me fully appreciative of the validity of the bullshit asymmetry principle (also known as Brandolini's law) which states that the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.

Yours sincerely,
Ken Rutherford 

Read the email that got Craig Smith banned here