Greetings,

Some of the new owners in the area have questions regarding the upcoming election; in particular, the situation with the Vice President candidates.   We are hearing contrasting interpretations of the Bylaws (and differing decisions based on these interpretations).  

Why are we finding out two to three weeks before the election that one or more members may or may not be eligible for office?  When can this issue clearly be resolved? How will it be resolved on Feb. 22?

Thank you,

Andrey Rukhin

A concerned (and relatively new) owner in Nikte-Ha

You are only finding this out regarding Scott Brown because he only decided to run 3 weeks ago and that has opened up all of these discussions. The group of people who want to include him on the ballot state, in essence, that the Director of Elections has no say in who can run for President or Vice President. They are opening up Vecinos bylaws to their own interpretation, the bylaws state that the President AND Vice President need to be residents of Akumal which is in the Municipality of Tulum. Scott Brown lives in Puerto Aventuras which is in the Municipality of Solidaridad. 

These rules have been in place since 2013, unfortunately we have a group of people who want to change the rules NOW, clearly this is something that should have been thought of months ago... NOT 2 weeks prior to the election. To change this rule it will require a change of the Bylaws, in order to do this a formal petition needs to be presented from Vecinos members to the Board to discuss the creation of a Charter Committee. Vecinos just went through this process last year and the Charter Committee members did not change the rules regarding the President or Vice President, most of these Charter Members are now contesting what they didn't change last year.........  Welcome to Akumal..... 

I'm going to share my very unsolicited 2 cents, as I'm one of the very few people who have lived in and around Akumal for almost 40 years... We all love Dan, and he’s served Vecinos well, but it’s the same very same circle of people who stay in charge of Vecinos as President and VP (aside from Ricardo who is new to Akumal and learning and trying to get things done, which he's learning, is really hard). But it doesn’t leave much room for change and people are tired of the same old, same old. Let's ope it up a little.  We need to help Vecinos better represent its membership, or it’ll fall apart without support.  I’ve seen it happen before in my lifetime here in Akumal.  I don't want Vecinos to limp along barely getting enough support to pay for security and a few other little projects.   Vecinos needs to thrive, but too many people are walking away out of frustration because they don't feel represented.  

Hi Andrey,

Monica's posts perfectly illustrate the situation in both substance and tone.

Monica thinks that Scott is qualified to serve as a Vocal under the bylaws but not qualified to serve as VP. But Scott has submitted his name as a candidate for VP.

Monica is, of course, free to not vote for Scott for VP if she doesn't think he is qualified. But she also wants to make it so members like you CAN'T vote for him for VP, even if you think he IS qualified and best for the job.

The question isn't whether where Scott sleeps disqualifies him. The question is who gets to decide, and the answer under our bylaws is members like you, not Monica, not the board, not the director of elections, and not anyone else.

This is why we have elections.

Best, Neil

Monica,

You and I obviously disagree, but I am not trying to “confuse (MISLEAD and LIE)”.  I am stating my view of a contentious situation.

I am a Vecinos board member, one of its most committed volunteers, and a neighbor. I am also a moderator of this forum, which has rules.

Let’s disagree if we must, but please be civil. Thank you.