Lundquist: Is RCSC board in Sun City just picking those they like?
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The Recreation Centers of Sun City board really hit a long drive into a sand trap with its executive session dismissal of board member Karen McAdam, and it is digging itself deeper all the time.
I don’t know if the members made the right decision or not. That’s just the problem with executive sessions. Nobody knows.
In the movie “Star Wars,” Han Solo is told his reward for helping the rebel cause will be “More wealth than you can imagine.” He replies, “I don’t know, I can imagine quite a bit.” The recent article by board President Sue Wilson said there is a lot more to the story, but declined to say what that would be. Her excuse is that what happened in the executive session can’t be released because it is confidential. That’s just stating the same thing twice, like saying something is against the law because it is illegal.
Why is it confidential? McAdam’s reply was a full-throated defense of the principle of due process. She seems to have no idea why she was kicked off the board as soon as her back was turned. Not that I’m crusading for McAdam. I didn’t even vote for her.
Was this really an argument over pickleball at Mountain View Center? Did the board do this in executive session to avoid embarrassing McAdam by revealing some deep, dark secret? Is this the board’s new way of picking only the members they like, regardless of who wins the vote? Did the Chinese put McAdam on the board by sending hundreds of bamboo ballots in? I can imagine quite a bit, as can everyone else.
Even when executive sessions are legal, and they often aren’t, they are rarely a good idea. They should only be used when an employee’s privacy rights may be violated. Even then, as soon as that discussion is ended, the board should come back into public session to vote on action. Executive sessions should never be used to discuss anything just because a board is trying to avoid bad press or a negative reaction from the public. People will always fill in any missing information with the worst their imaginations can come up with.
This issue is not going to die down. Who will want to run for the board in the upcoming election if the winner is basically on probation until board members decide whether or not they like the new person? Who would want to get involved in this mess?
Come on, release the transcript of the executive session, leaving out any personal information about McAdam that she would object to. I’ll bet the whole thing is relatively simple and innocent. Otherwise, keep digging that sand trap deeper until confidence is shattered and the whole board ends up being voted out.
