Quote:
Originally posted by His High Holiness
Carl;
I have six thoughts on your situation, most of which have already been stated. For those that do not know me, I have intricate knowledge of association politics, having been an assignor for many years.
1. Hector was probably lying or at a minimum, he did not give you the whole truth. I cannot tell you the number of times that umpires use death of loved ones as excuses for not fulfilling their commitments. On more than one occasion, I have had umpires who used the excuse of death of their father/mother etc. as an excuse for turning back a game. Only problem was, they had used the same excuse for the same relative two or three years ago. (I kept records and quoted back to them the dates that they had used those excuses.) They would then ho and hum and then say it was their father-IN-LAW or some such garbage.
2. If Hector was telling the truth, he would have come to you prior to the clinics to gain his exemption. An after-the-fact excuse is generally a lie or the actions of an extremely irresponsible person.
3. Why was your board voting by secret ballot? Roberts Rules of Order state that secret ballots should only be used for elections. Rules or policy should always be by open ballot. An elected board of governors should never have a secret ballot for any purpose. Even the US Senate, with all its shenanigans, has never tried to have a secret ballot. Elected board members and senators must be accountable to the electorate and how can one be accountable if his votes are secret.
4. In most officials associations, one set of rules applies to the big dogs and another stricter set to the little dogs. I would guess that Hector is a big dog.
5. I am not sure that I would have resigned since resignations should be reserved for matters of principle. This is big dog politics, not ethics. However...
6. Your resignation may have been an asute political move. Your board sewed to the wind and is now reaping the whirlwind with others insisting on claiming the same exemption. Your resignation will leave you as the knight riding to the rescue should the board be unable to control the dragon that they have unleashed.
Peter
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Peter: I appreciate your thoughtful response. I have two points I should make:
1. Hector would not make up a story about the death of any family member, not even a
cuñado (brother-in-law). The evidence comes partly from my knowledge of him but mostly from my knowledge of the culture. His sister died; our association sent a wreath more than two years ago. My point was never that Hector should be deprived of the remembrance ritual, only that during a period of 20 weeks or so when he knew the clinic dates, the time of the family meeting could have been shifted to allow him to make both "services."
2. The secret ballot turned out to be meaningless. During the discussion, one Board member argued for the exemption. Four members spoke vehemently against it. In the end four
voted against it.