A CAI lawyer testifying in front of the Arizona Legislature made what have to be some of the biggest gaffes or the biggest lies in CAI’s checkered history. First he said, “The government that governs best is that closest to the people.”
He seriously screwed up. The actual quote was from Henry David Thoreau who attributed the words to Thomas Jefferson. The quote was: “That government is best which governs least.” That’s a far cry from what this dopey lawyer told the Legislature.
His next gaffe is when he says that “HOA Boards are, in effect, little tiny governments.”
Whoa, is this lawyer brain-dead? Is he stupid? Or just back from his three-martini lunch? That’s exactly what all of us in this anti-HOA movement want! We want HOAs declared to be governments. Once HOAs are deemed to be governments, then suddenly homeowners have back all of the protections of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The next Big Lie was that CAI doesn’t represent management companies or landscapers. Anyone with a quarter ounce of brain power knows that the CAI is all about money. It’s all about referrals. It’s all about enriching lawyers and management companies at the expense of homeowners.
This video is several years old, but one has to wonder if CAI ever fired this idiot?
My thanks to ArizonaHOA.blogspot.com for bringing this video back to our attention.
“and what have you”
Well, it’s sounds like he’s saying HOAs do whatever they feel like doing or “what have you.” Or perhaps he meant to say, “we have you!” Yes, they sure do have the homeowners rope and tied. Along with our bank accounts, health, happiness, and ability to live in peace.
Something tells me this goon has probably been promoted and received a generous pay raise and one of the infamous lavish vacations the CAI members all enjoy…on the homeowners money of course!
“HOA Boards duly elected.” What a joke!
What about developer-controlled boards? NO ELECTION — board is appointed by developer for years if not decades in large-scale subdivisions.
What about fraudulent HOA elections? (You know, the kind that drive South Florida condo owners to the streets in protest, or the kind that result in prosecution and conviction of former PA board members for casting fraudulent ballots.)
What about legally rigged HOA elections and all sorts of enabling legislation that makes it possible for HOA boards to stay on the Board for as long as they like? It’s entirely legal for incumbent boards to drum up frivolous violations and declare that a member is no longer in good standing — therefore unable to vote, let alone run for a seat on the board.
Large scale developments only permit a handful of members to “elect” who sits on the Master HOA board. It’s perfectly legal, but certainly does not represent the will of the people.
And what kind of “mini-government” assigns voting interests according to the amount/proportion of property ownership? Voting and elections in HOAs are strictly governed by corporate law, not Constitutional law.