Steamroller Vs. Democracy Denial

Recently Eastman member Mary O’Rourke wrote the following remark on the Eastman Listserv to a long-term Eastman member whose husband created what used to be the uncensored, non-governance run Eastman listserv back in the early ‘90s.

-- I think that you should disclose that the "letter" you refer to is really a link to a blog which discredits our governance and objects to everything that has formed the community in Eastman!

Mary O'Rourke

We respect Ms. O’Rourke’s point of view. The post on the Eastman Blog “Steamroller vs. Democracy”, click here is the point of view expressed by an Eastman owner to the ECA Board who is outraged at what Eastman governance (particularly the Board), has done. He has articulated quite well what many owners think occurred with the tampering on the ECA Board's part when it rejected the explicit wording filed by more than 300 Eastman owners in a submitted petition which was filed in accordance with Article V of the Eastman Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions.

The Eastman Board of Directors' responsibility and reason for existence is to represent the best interests of all owners at Eastman. Not only did the ECA Board fail to fulfill that responsibility as it pertains to the Eastman members’ petition, it failed to seek legal opinion in replacing the expressed wording of the petition with  six questions. Chairman Goldman has acknowledged that he did not get nor was he willing to get legal opinion on question six. His rejection of his obligations to ALL Eastman members is not just an affront to all 350 Eastman owners who filed the petition, it is a rejection of his responsibility to get an independent legal opinion wherein he obviously has a conflict of interest.

Those Eastman members who support an autocratic leader and facist governance have that prerogative. Other members unilaterally reject it as well as the governance bullying that has enabled Eastman to become an undesirable place to live despite its natural beauty.

Every US citizen has the right to express their opinion on any matter whatsoever-- the right of Free Speech and Eastman members value that fundamental right and reject continuing attempts by the Eastman governance listserv moderators' (and others) attempts to censor what people think or say. click here

Ms. O’Rourke also stated, “a blog which objects to everything that has formed the community at Eastman". We have lived at Eastman since it was founded. We have read each and every change to the Declaration and Covenants over that 42 year period. We are thoroughly familiar with the openness and transparency practiced both by the founding entities, the CEC and the general management prior to 2000. The two of us combined have spent more than 30 years in various ECA governance positions. Perhaps Ms. O'Rourke is also thoroughly familiar with the innumerable modifications made in the past 12 years, not simply to the Declarations, but also in hidden ways embedded within Board policies, Council by-laws and Board by-laws. The changes over these past 12 to 14 years have eliminated what formally was an open transparent community. They have rejected all member rights and have created an autocratic governance that some members of ECA governance pretend they will modify. Since they created the governance, as it exists today nothing could be further from reality.