Summerplace Improvement Association, Inc.
To: SIA members
From: SIA Board of Directors
Re: Mr. Jaffe’s request to remove his name from the voting ballot
Date: November 2, 2015
On October 16, 2015, the annual mailing was sent to all SIA members in advance of the annual meeting and the Annual Board election. On October 26, 2015, Mr. Robert Jaffe requested the information he provided to the Nominating Committee regarding his qualifications to be a candidate for the SIA Board be made available to all members, as well as the same information for the other Board candidates.
In response to this request, SIA Board President Walter Garrard explained the information Mr. Jaffe provided the members of the Nominating Committee was for the purpose of their discussion of those who had expressed interest in being candidates for the Board. At no time, was there any indication that the information would be sent to the full membership. Nor, did Mr. Jaffe request previously that this be made available.
Mr. Garrard indicated that to the best of his knowledge, Summerplace Improvement Association, Inc. (SIA) has never provided candidate information to the membership when sending ballots for the Annual Board election. Nor has SIA done this at any other time. As a practical matter, people in our community are neighborly and Board candidates are known generally to the membership through their volunteering, participation and support of the Summerplace community.
Further, Mr. Garrard noted Mr. Jaffe has been a member of SIA since 2012 and this current annual mailing is the fourth he has received. None of the previous mailings Mr. Jaffe received contained information on SIA Board candidates.
Subsequently, Mr. Jaffe replied on October 28 2015, requesting that the following email in which he withdraws his name from the ballot be made available to SIA members, together with the information he submitted to the Nominating Committee regarding his qualifications to stand for election to the SIA Board:
Mr. Garrard,
Are you saying that you did not receive any information on my or other nominee directors’ qualifications before sending out the ballot? What is the harm in providing information on the qualifications of those who will run our Association? The fact that the Board has not fulfilled its duties for years by sending out the qualifications of candidates for the board is not surprising. I am running in good part as you know because of the long history of the board having failed to consistently act under the Declarations as it so admits even in public hearings. The reason is solely attributable to the Board of the Association for which you have served for years. I think it is presumptuous to assume that members know the candidates’ qualifications. I certainly do not know (with no disrespect) what qualifies the other candidates, including you, to be on the Board. As an experienced board member, I have never participated in an election where a ballot package is totally devoid of any information on the candidates, except at Summerplace. If no information is to be provided other than a name, then the voting is being done with the intent to withhold even the basic qualifications or lack thereof to unfairly and wrongly control the election process by this Board. Accordingly I will not participate in a sham election and request that my name be removed and members be provided this email with my qualifications and answers to the nominating committee. I had hoped, because of the nominating committee’s request, that the board had begun to change its ways of a few unqualified residents controlling the Association.
Robert Jaffe
A brief description of Mr. Jaffe’s relevant experience and objectives provided to the Nominating Committee:
HOA: 2 years president of HOA in San Diego, California
Finance: Harvard MBA Loeb Rhoades Fellowship (voted by faculty to be outstanding graduate in Finance) and Baker Scholar (highest honor in graduating class)
Chairman of the Audit Committee: A Life Medical, Inc, Bebe Stores, Inc., and Hot Topic, Inc.
Chairman of the Board of Directors: Hot Topic, Inc. (for 10 years, 6 years as public company); A Life Medical, Inc. (Executive Chairman through sale to subsidiary of United Heathcare); Keylime Software, Inc (acquired by Overture, Inc), Perlan Therapeutics, Inc., Bebe Stores, Inc (Vice Chairman of the Board)Board Member: Combichem, Inc. (sold to Dupont Pharmaceuticals Research Laboratories); Digirad, Inc. (until public offering effectiveness); Cameron Health, Inc (sold to Boston Scientific Corporation in 2012), E.S.I Software, Inc (acquired by Macromedia, Inc)
Summerplace HOA Board Objectives: use of funds from assessments for the sole benefit of members to improve safety and security of roads and access paths as first priority; reduce conflict and long standing substantial legal expenses over the last 10 years by uniform consistent application of HOA rules and regulations derived from Declaration and board members disqualifying themselves from votes on interested matter lastly, place 5 year term limits on directors.