SUN CITY – The next Sun City board of directors’ election will be much different from the one conducted in 2011.
Extensive revisions to the Sun City Community Association election handbook are now being developed in a joint project by the Board of Directors and its Elections Advisory Committee. A new candidate application form has already been approved, and rules regarding campaigning, communicating information to residents, endorsements, and candidate forums are being discussed by the committee and will lead to the creation of a new code of ethics for board members and election candidates.
Information will be made available to residents when the project is completed later in 2012.
This effort was triggered by some activities that took place before and during the 2011 board election in which three of seven candidates were elected to two-year terms on the board starting on January 1. The presence of seven candidates for three open positions identified a need to make some changes in how the election process is carried out, according to at least one election official.
Diane Faubl, chairperson of the Elections Advisory Committee, said the project was also set in motion by more than a dozen complaints filed by residents after the 2011 balloting ended in October.
“The complaints centered around the placement of signs and circulation of information that indicated support for a group of candidates, and perceptions by some residents that there was a “slate” or “ticket” of candidates supported by groups within Sun City,” said Faubl.
Faubl emphasized that the complaints focused on actions of residents and not on any of the seven candidates themselves.
“We want to make all candidates equal, with equal opportunities as individuals,” Faubl said. “We have begun a process that will take several more months. One improvement we have already made, which I like, is that we are working face-to-face directly with the board and not talking through liaisons, as in the past. This has helped expedite our communications. We don’t want any slates of candidates.”
Other members of the six-member committee are Jack Edwards, Judith Frazier, Cookie Seiler, Mary Meisenheimer, and Tony Nicosia.
This project also is attempting to establish guidelines where very few of them exist, some election officials have said. The only significant guideline in the current election process was that candidates are prohibited from seeking endorsements during the campaign.
A total of 1,805 ballots were cast in the 2011 election, more than double the participation in any previous election. Elected to the board were incumbent Bonnie Bayser (appointed to the board earlier in 2011 after the resignation of Jerry Kirschner), newcomer Linda Davis, and Kirschner. They will serve two-year terms starting January 1. Other candidates were current board president Bill Ziletti, Tony Troy, Al Drogosz, and James Lunn.
