Power to the People

The first skirmish I noticed here at the commune was the monthly ladies’ luncheon. These are at a different restaurant each time and should draw a big crowd, considering there are 130 units here in our complex but that day there were only about 10 people. In a world full of retired people you’d have we would have filled the place.

          And there are the bi-weekly cocktail Thursdays by the pool. Again, perhaps 15 or 20 at most showed up.

          But I hadn’t yet learned about the power plays going on behind the scenes.

          My next door neighbor, M, who organized the Thursdays, never goes to the luncheons, and B, who organized the luncheons, won’t attend the cocktail Thursdays. Hmmm.

And then there’s C, the head of the social committee, reportedly as difficult to unseat as the Pope and who keeps an iron control over the pot lucks.

Who knew Shangri-La would be so riddled with power struggles?

Our condo board takes this to a whole other level. At least here the politics are about things that matter, like water bills and maintenance.

We’re still the newbies here, but even we have figured out that our complex is in need of change. Our complex is governed by a board of 5, and the place is overseen by a management company that deals with the day to day administration.

Our current board president – S - has dug into her position like a tic on a hound dog and seems to have forgotten that this isn’t a life-time term.  She also doesn’t realize that the management company actually works for us, not the other way around and so we’ve received pretty lackluster service. Painting is flaking on one of the older buildings and the landscape company hasn’t fertilized the grass for over a year.

I’ll give S credit though – in spite of being 80, you’ll see her everywhere, on the job. However, people who have been to her unit on the third floor of her building report that she also keeps a pair of binoculars on the ready. Her place overlooks the pool and heaven help the person who puts a float in the water or who stops by to chat for a moment with their dog.

       

   The good news is we’ve just elected two new members to the board and S is due for re-election next year. I see a coup in the making.