This newspaper RECENTLY REPORTED on fraudulent voter suppression in Big Canoe, in opposition to our Covenants and By-Laws, to deny eligibility to large numbers of Big Canoe Voters in the upcoming Board of Directors election.
It is being reported on Community Facebook Groups that the number of “Properties” that are currently ineligible to vote is in excess of 300. One person has reported that a question to Jayne Hagan on the matter resulted in the property owner being told that specifically, 323 Properties were declared ineligible for Voting.
It is important to note that One (1) Property can equal 1 Vote if it is a Lot, but if it is a Home, then it equals Two (2) Votes. There are unconfirmed reports leaking out that the total number of actual “Votes” being denied as ineligible is approximately 570. That is over 10% of property owners that are potentially being a DENIED their right to vote in this election, due to the POA violating the Voting Guidelines that have been established by our Covenants and By-Laws. (NOTE: The recent Ballot for the POA Board Election says that 1,399 is the 25% Quorum for the POA Election. If 25% of total votes is 1,399, then the Total Number of Votes is 5,596 (1,399 x 4).)
This election has officially entered the territory of being a Sham Election, and Voter Fraud. We are voting for 5 Candidates. The margins of error here, due to persons being illegally denied a vote, almost certainly will change the results of this election.
The validity of the looming Vote on a “Covenant Change” is also in question. That separate Vote will allow a $2,500 Fee on Lots Sold, and a $5,000 Fee on Homes Sold. How many people have been denied a Vote in that Election? Ballots are being mailed on that one next week, and property owners still don’t know the “Exact Language” in the Covenant Change we are voting on!
They tried to pass a similar concept back in 2008. Here is an interesting letter from the Board (8 Pg PDF) back then. Why is it interesting?
- Unlike this election, they actually provided the exact text property owners were voting on prior to the ballots, so it was a more transparent process.
- If you look at page #3, it very specifically establishes what it means to be “eligible” to vote in good standing, and it completely contradicts what GM Jill Philmon is telling property owners in this election. Here is an excerpt from the covenant vote packet….
3. Who votes?
Property Owners in good standing can vote.
4. What does good standing mean?
No dues, fees, or assessments chargeable by the POA are delinquent for more than 61 days or more.
This is completely at odds, with what Jill Philmon and her staff are telling property owners, and indeed ACTING ON – which is to take away property owner rights to vote at 30 days! And furthermore – Jill tells us “It’s always been done this way!” Wrong again Jill!
Getting back to this election….. What EXACTLY are we voting on? For example, when are people going to be told that the Developer is being granted IMMUNITY from having to pay the Sales Fee? For how long does the Developer get “special immunity”? Is it only grandfathered to existing lots? Or does it include “Future Lots” that may be pulled into the community by the Developer via annexation? For example all of the Blackwell Village Lots that may be annexed – will they receive “special immunity”?
If we don’t know the exact language – it doesn’t make sense that the Vote has any meaning. When our State or even County officials vote on changes to documents / laws / ordinances, it is presented as “This is the old language”….. ….. …. and “This is the New Language”, and then they Vote on the specific language. It doesn’t make sense that Big Canoe residents get a “Cliff Notes Version” of what they are voting on. As shown in the 2008 example above, even the last time we voted on this similar “Tax To Ourselves” we got to see in advance what we were voting on. I do NOT trust people that are this sneaky.
This is also a huge issue when putting it in the context of property values. Already the Developer has an unfair advantage, in that property owners are paying for their marketing leads through our new marketing department. The Covenants GUARANTEE their rights to our marketing data. They have recently just collapsed the appraisal value of Lots with their “Liquidation Sale” that this newspaper broke the story on. They still have the right to subdivide in more lots, annex more land into the community, and take lots through first-right-of-refusal. How long are we going to put up with unfair pricing advantages in favor of the developer – against the interests of property owners trying to sell their homes or lots? This is a BIG deal to permanently change the covenant in a way that gives the developer another huge advantage. How many times will we be suckered into believing that “The Developer is Gone!” They left in 2005, then in 2016, again last month. But they still have ALL their rights via covenant, and there is ZERO current mechanism in the Covenants to suggest they will ever lose those rights – at least not for decades to come.
These votes are going to change the face of Big Canoe for a long time to come. They are important. It is time for this community to put it’s foot down and say “Enough”. But will they? Or will they make a show of jawing about changing things, when they aren’t even willing to enforce the rules that we have? The POA is blatantly denying property owners the right to vote in violation of the Covenants and the By-Laws. The ONLY question… is….. will the property owners once again allow them to get away with it? I know how I am betting. There is an old investing motto…. don’t fight the trend. The trend in Big Canoe is, sadly, very clear.
There is hollow discussion on challenging this vote in the courts via an Injunction.
And that is the end of the story I think.
Peace,
– david hopkins
publisher and property owner
themtnsvoice@aol.com
PS…. here is why it is fraud – because they are declaring people that haven’t paid their assesments within 30 days of the Billing date ineligible. It is supposed to be 60 days from the billing date according to the Covenants and By-Laws.
Article VI Section 7. of the 1988 Declarations & Covenants (“D&C”) shows the following language:
Owner shall commence payment of the assessment on the first day of the month following the date of closing. Payment of the assessment shall be past due thirty (30) days after the date of billing.
Section 2.7 of the 2006 3rd Restated By-Laws states that in order to lose voting eligibility, a property owner must be:
“more than thirty (30) days past due”
SUMMARY: You get billed on the 1st of the month (October in this case), and you become initially “past due” on the 31st. You become 30 days “past due” on November 29th. You become “more than” 30 days “past due” on November 30. They cut off 323 properties (570+/- Voters) from eligibility because they hadn’t paid by October 31st – NOT November 30. Vote is illegal. Period. Cancel it, reissue correct guidance. Start following the legal rules. Hold the Vote in Legal Fashion. IF you want to enforce your rights, file an injunction.
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