THOSE THAT DID NOT ATTENDED THE CANDIDATES FORUM.
Stew Richland
A Post Mortem on the Candidates Forum
WOULD SHOW UP, YEP I WOULD HAVE PROVIDED FOOD!. AS I HAVE SAID SO MANY TIMES, “SERVE THEM FOOD AND THEY WILL COME!”
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Today, those who were motivated attended the UCO Candidates Forum at the club house. According to my count approximately 83 residents attended, plus all of the nominated candidates bring the grand total to 110. We have 300 plus associations, we have at the height of the season, at least 15,000 people residing here in Century Village. So the key question is why such poor attendance?
Having an important event schedule on a President’s Day weekend was a mistake. Many residents were off visiting or traveling. Children and grandchildren were taking advantage of having time off from school to visit their family.
Was this “red Carpet” event advertised properly? Not really. There were some articles in the UCO Reporter providing directions on how to sign up to run for office. There was a few blurbs on Dave Israel’s Village Blog. At the last Delegate Assembly meeting the Chairperson of the Elections Committee told those who were contemplating running for office how to do so. There were many changes in the procedure and process. It seemed that many of the organizers were confused and unsettled by the fact that the event was so sparsely attended and some candidates did not show up.
The next edition of the Reporter will have a pullout section that will provide a photo and bio of each candidate. In all fairness to the residents of our Community, to provide the voters with such skimpy information on the candidates, and then ask them to cast their votes based on this, is unfair to candidates and the Village as a whole. This method of informing the Village is suspect from the outset. We know that the Reporter prints enough copies to be distributed throughout the Village, however, we also know that not to many people even read the paper. Hundreds of copies of this Reporter were not even distributed to associations. It would be interesting to take a poll on how many residents actually watch Channel 63, or at the very least, have taken the time to tune in and watch the Candidates present their views on this medium.
The Forum itself had some interesting moments. It was heartening to see how many in attendance were wearing red shirts in support of Phyllis Richland. I was waiting for Dave Israel to remark that this was a Comintern meeting and not a Candidates Forum.
Susan Bucher did an outstanding job as moderator, even though there was a big glitch with the question box that was used to house the questions submitted from the audience. Mixed in with the questions was paper receipts and theater stubs.
One of the “gotcha” questions Dave asked Phyllis was to explain why she left the UCO office early before closing time. I doubt Dave expected the response Phyllis gave. Not many people knew that Phyllis went to Publix and other stores to buy food for our less fortunate residents. Many people did not know that Phyllis sat with many of our elder residents to keep them company and provide them with some one to listen to them. Many people did not know that Phyllis went to the UCO office at 8AM to sit with residents that needed help with food stamp applications. The appointments were made early, so that the resident could maintain their privacy and dignity. I challenge any UCO officer to compare their commitment to our residents as Phyllis Richland has demonstrated over the years. One other point. Phyllis asked Dave if he would not erase or destroy all of the documents that were saved on the computer system. His reply was vague, however, he quickly retorted that when Phyllis left UCO she took with her three or four file cabinets of stuff. Balderdash! I carried the one box (a box that copy paper came in) from her car to our apartment. What was in the box was her coffee cup, her notary paper and stamp, her phone book and other personal belongings. I am sure that David knew that when Phyllis left, the locusts attacked her office and took all that was not bolted to the floor.
Just a quick observation about the person that questioned the article that I wrote entitled an “Autopsy of the Israel Administration.” This person, unfortunately read the article literally, not figuratively. Most writers often use various devices and metaphors to spice up their columns. This is what I did. Maybe this person was absent the day their English teacher covered this topic.
From a teacher who is used to providing a grade for effort, I would give this forum a “D”. Sadly those who were urged to attend, the voting delegates, did not come. Most of those that attended wore red shirts and were the most motivated. If this is the best that our CEO – Chief of Operations – our – leader - can coordinate, we need no more evidence than this to say: ‘VOTE FOR PHYLLIS RICHLAND FOR UCO PRESIDENT1’
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