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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2016 By Leighton McLaughlin Two new members were elected to the HOA Board in an election that was marked by a surprisingly high voter turnout. Claudeen Diaz and Len Tavernetti — both running for the first time — won over three other candidates as 73 percent of Four Seasons households cast votes. Each of the nine districts had more than a 60 percent turnout, with District 8 reaching 91 percent. Diaz and Tavernetti replace the Board's outgoing President Jacque Sneddon and Treasurer Wayne Staples, both of who ran for re- election but were defeated. The fifth candidate, Jerry Monahan, ran for the first time. The vote totals were Tavernetti, 813; Diaz, 795; Staples, 467; Sneddon, 385, and Monahan, 259. There was one write-in vote for Jack Dexter and 6 blank ballots were cast only to help districts reach quorum. In Four Seasons elections, reaching quorum is of vital importance. Otherwise, the district delegate can cast all the district's votes as he or she sees fit — possibly deciding a close election. Glennon Gray, executive vice president of FirstService Residential in California, the company that manages Four Seasons, said "In 30 years in this business, I have never seen such a high turnout." Gray spoke before the Annual Members meeting on April 7, where the election results were announced. The votes were counted by three judges of election: residents Barbara Miller, Carol Napolski and Julie Stayner. Tavernetti is a retired Army colonel and aerospace executive. He said he has three issues that he would like to address immediately as he joins the Board. First, he feels the election process itself needs to be reviewed, that it has a lack of transparency in the way the votes are counted and announced, and problems with getting the positions and qualifications of candidates out to the voters. Second, he wants to see improvements in communication between the Board and residents, possibly by having a daily update on the Four Seasons website, use of blanket emails and other measures. Third, he wants to install term limits for both committee members and Board members. Diaz, who holds an MBA and has a wealth of management experience, said her first priority is "To get my feet wet; to find out what's expected before we start making a lot of changes." She was complimentary of her predecessors. "They did a good job. They did what they thought was expected of them. I thank them for their long years of service." "The finances of this community are in very good shape," she said. "The Finance Committee made good recommendations and the Board followed them." After the election Tavernetti was named Board president, Diaz vice-president and incumbent member Jean Sandoval secretary. Staples, the outgoing treasurer, said he "wishes the new Board members well, and I look forward to two more good years" for four Seasons. He thanked residents "who supported me in the past and in the election." Three Four Seasons residents made some significant money for doing their civic duty. They were winners in the drawing approved by the HOA Board to encourage voting in the yearly Board election. Those eligible for the drawing were voters in the three districts that had the highest percentage of homeowners casting ballots. The highest district was number 8, with 72 of its 79 votes cast – reaching 91 percent. District 5 had 87 percent and District 6 had 79. Winners Philip St. John of District 8 received $300; Richard Yanes of District 5 got $200 and Phyllis Beede of District 6 got $100. Getting out the vote in Board elections is particularly important because of a provision in the CC&Rs: Districts that fail of a majority (50 percent plus one) do not have their ballots opened and the district delegate can vote the whole district's voting power as he or she sees fit. This makes it possible for a single delegate to decide a close election. That possibility was avoided by the high turnout in this year's election. Each of the nine district made over quorum — the lowest reached 62 percent. Voters Put Diaz and Tavernetti on HOA Board And the other winners are… Top Left: District delegate alternate Patricia Hilles and winner Philip St. John Top right: District delegate Cheri Howard, winner Richard Yanes and alternate Marion Herron Bottom left: District alternate Howard Lyon, winner Phyllis Beede and delegate Brian Anderson

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