Let's Review the Horsh!t in Sandra Bonato's Letter

 

RICHARD L. PIERCE
ATTORNEY AT LAW
928 MIDDLEFIELD ROAD
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA 94063
TELEPHONE (650) 780-7928
FAX (650) 249-0297

 

July 24, 2008

Board of Directors and Sandra Bonato, Esq.
Edgewater Isle South Board of Directors
Berding & Weil LLP
3240 Stone Valley Road West
Alamo. CA 94507-1558

Re: Moxi Posner

Dear Board Members and Ms. Bonato:

This letter is written on behalf of my client Maxi Posner.

I think it appropriate that I write at this time as a new company has assumed
management of the Edgewater Isles South HOA and hopefully a new era of cooperation,
compromise and understanding can be implemented and the harassment and disrespect
Ms. Posner has had to endure will end. I refer to the following:

1. Receiving a letter from Ms. Bonato drafted at the request of the Board dated
November 7, 2007 which states a police report was filed because Ms. Posner
had express mailed a correspondence directly to Nick Pargett's home. The
San Mateo Police Department confirmed no such report was ever filed- they
have no such report. That is understandable, as what Ms. Posner did was not
criminal. The implied threat of police involvement contained in a letter from
an attorney was understandably taken by Ms. Posner as an attempt to silence
her.

2. In the same letter, Ms. Posner was told that due to her "angry tenor" telephone
calls to the management company would not be accepted. Ms. Posner denies
this accusation categorically and states that it was the manager who was rude
to her, on the few times he would answer the phone or return her calls.

3. Accusing her of costing the Association money by her conduct in
correspondence sent to the membership. This was an unfair attempt to
ostracize her in the eyes of the membership for exercising her rights as a
member.

4. Not conducting the recall election properly. While the petition upon which
the recall was based specifically requested a special meeting be held, no such
meeting took place, when it clearly should have been. This is certainly
surprising in view of the fact that Ms. Bonato and members of her firm coauthored
an article entitled "Total Recall" that lays out the ground rules for
conducting recall elections and plainly indicates that under these
circumstances such a meeting should have taken place. The procedure that

 

Board of Directors and Sandra Bonato, Esq.
July 24, 2008

was followed was therefore not "fair and reasonable," even though the article
states, at page eight, that" .. .it is essential that recall procedures are and appear
to be fair and reasonable."

5. The practice of the Board at meetings of giving unlimited time to speakers
who support the Board versus limiting (or cutting off) the time of speakers
who disagree with the Board. I have confirmed this practice with other
Association members besides Ms. Posner who have had the opportunity to
speak at meetings cut short because the Board did not like what was being
said.

6. At the Annual Board Meeting in May while addressing the members about her
candidacy as a Master Board member Ms. Posner had her remarks interrupted
when the microphone was violently taken from her hand by the president of
the master board. Not a soul on the Board did a thing to protect her from such
inappropriate and illegal conduct. V/hat made the situation even worse was
that Moxi was not given additional time to finish speaking to make up for time
lost by the interruption. Is it necessary to remind you that at that same
meeting Moxi received 64 votes, a clear indication other members agree with
the positions she is asserting?

In view of the above it is not surprising that Moxi Posner feels harassed and that
she has been treated unfairly. Under these circumstances anyone in her shoes would.
The fact that she makes statements or takes positions unpopular with the Board is no
excuse. She and all of the Association members are entitled to be treated respectfully.
The fact that she has previously been the victim of anti-Semitic hate crimes while living
at Edgewater Isle South and is a widowed senior citizen living alone only makes the
above issues even more painful to her.

I am not unsympathetic to the difficulties associated with being a BOA board
member, as I was both a board member and president of my own condominium
association in Redwood City for several years. It is all too frequently a time consuming,
frustrating and thankless position. However, as I learned and came to appreciate, it is
vital for a Board and its members to not only appear to be fair, but in fact be fair. That
means listening respectfully to members, however unpleasant that may be. If a Board
Member cannot do that that individual should not be on the Board at all. Edgewater Isle
South has been Moxi's home for over 22 years and she cares deeply about it, her
neighbors and fellow Association members. She is an advocate for homeowner rights
and those views should not only be respected but considered in full. If indeed Moxi' s
voice sounds angry or upset when she addresses the membership or Board at meetings,
that is a reflection of the mistreatment she has herself been subjected to. It must stop
now.

I am hopeful that with a new management company will help create an era of
good feelings between not only Moxi but all Association members and the Board and that
this is the last time she will have to seek advice from me. Ms. Bonato, your letter dated
November 7, 2008 to Ms. Posner states you would like to speak with her attorney. I look
forward to that call.

Very truly yours,

 

Richard Pierce

cc: Moxi Posner
Jeffrey Barnett, Esq.