John T.

Salatti

Nov 3 (10 days ago)

to me, Teri, Myra, Scott, Robert, Austin, slhoward40 To the Executive Committee, I chose to run for BCA president this year (1) because I did not think Teri Janine was running again given her run for ANC and (2) because I thought I could make a difference working from that office that would be harder achieve either as another officer or just a member. Even when I learned she was going to run again, I said I would still run because I thought I could make that difference. Although I received the most votes, the vote was tainted. So faced with the deepening divisions and our own version of hanging chads, Teri Janine and I agreed to a revote. The ExecComm met and Teri Janine and I agreed on the basics. Still, faced with this situation, I decided that I need to step back and rethink what I was doing. As background to this rethinking, let me say that I am tired of the divisiveness that has grown up around this neighborhood election and, even more, I am concerned about the effects this discord will have on the neighborhood and the Association. During the first half of the '90s, the BCA was a very vibrant organization with 80-100 people coming to meetings regularly. But in the late '90s, the community leaders began fighting among themselves and soon were in circular firing squad mode. Those internal squabbles turned off a lot of people and so started the BCA on a better-than-decade-long decline in membership that only ended since Teri Janine's election in 2011 and the efforts this ExecComm has made to reenergize the BCA. And the proof of movement in the right direction is clear from what has gone on the last two years. From my experience here in the neighborhood since 2006, I can say that Teri Janine has put the BCA on the right track. She has worked hard; she (along with the rest of the Executive Committee) has turned the BCA around. Paid membership has tripled since elections were announced in the fall of 2010 and our coffers are at least sound if not great. Reflecting on that progress and reflecting on the growing negativity that has crept into the BCA over the last year, I have decided that I do not want to have anything to do with starting us down the same road as the neighborhood went down in the '90s and the '00s. The Association doesn't need that if it is to be an effective voice on an important issues and Bloomingdale most certainly doesn't need that. So I have spent a lot of hours pondering and weighing. And out of that, I've decided that I will not

be a party to re-fragmenting the BCA and so am withdrawing my name from the ballot for the election on the 19th. That decision may not sit well with some in the neighborhood (although others will be thrilled). I get that and I will work with them; in some ways, the decision doesn't sit well with me. But at some point, my integrity and my commitment to Bloomingdale have to trump what my pride most covets. I love winning and I love being deeply involved. But what I love personally for me is not most paramount; keeping the neighborhood moving forward is. Teri Janine and I have met and, speaking for myself, believe that we have resolved a number of misunderstandings and misconceptions. So I will spend the next year continuing to work on specific local issues and also doing what I can to pull neighborhood factions together. If we can't overcome that, Bloomingdale will not all it can be. And I say that fully believing that we are navigating the race, class, and culture divides here pretty darn well. Most neighbors get on well with one another and animosity does not tend to be on the surface. But I still believe that we can rise above "better than average." I have said to her and say to you all that I pledge to work with Teri Janine whatever office she holds to advance the issues that affect Bloomingdale, its residents, and the quality of life here. Finally, two things. First, I believe that the ExecComm should still go forward with recommending to the membership a vote for the office of president to occur at the monthly meeting on the 19th. We have to tie up that loose end and let the membership have its rightful say, even if it appears to be pro forma. Second, my personal apologies to Bertha Holliday, if my decision creates any hassles with her efforts to draft a statement to the community about what happened last month and what the ExecComm will be recommending to the membership. All the best to you, John