Poudre Valley REA mailed out ballots with an accompanying “data sheet” which includes a proposed re-working of the Articles of Incorporation, with absolutely no discussion or explanation.
Buried in Article V is an easily-missed proposal to alter the number of Directors of the Co-op, creating a new minimum of seven, rather than the current 11 — at their whim! They make no attempt to justify it, preferring to “sneak” it through in the hopes that you will accept all proposed changes as nothing more than a “cleaning up” of the document. This is like allowing the U.S. Constitution to be altered with absolutely no discussion!
In my opinion, they don’t trust the REA membership to make the “right” electoral decision, and want the ability to nullify the election results by simply eliminating directors that are not “acceptable” to them. This is an insult to all PVREA members, and a violation of the “Seven Principles of Cooperatives,” to which they subscribe.
If you feel, as I do, that you are being tricked into disenfranchising all REA members, and violating basic principles of democratic organization, you should vote against the proposed amendments. If you have already been tricked into voting for it, you have the RIGHT to revoke your mailed-in ballot and re-cast your ballot at the annual meeting on Saturday, March 28 — official registration is from 7 to 9:45 a.m.
At the same time, you may want to reconsider any vote you gave to an incumbent.
J.K. Peterson
Candidate for Poudre Valley REA Board of Directors