Democracy is a fragile thing. It can slip away while we sleep. It is easy to criticize faraway nations for their lack of democracy; or the national government for the way it practices democracy.
But democracy is a mindset. It is displayed in the way we treat one another, and in our local communities.
I write to shine a light on what can happen in a neighborhood when the power structure is so deeply entrenched it forgets to represent its community.
Several members of the Rodgers Forge Board of Governors have been serving on the board for 40 years or more; their dedication is laudable. We need people who will give their time.
But the coming annual election reveals a board that seems obsessed with holding onto power rather than adapting to the world as it is.
For the coming elections, the current board established a procedure in which new candidates had to declare candidacy two months before the election (after that nominations are closed), and no one at the annual meeting on Sept. 14 will be allowed to nominate anyone else.
The current board has also required new candidates to sign what I consider to be a loyalty oath to be eligible to run. While the board claims these requirements are to ensure an orderly election — and are probably within the board's power — they have a chilling effect on attracting new candidates. They certainly are bad public relations.
But the most troubling issue is that the board has decided to extend the terms of many of its own members, without having them stand for re-election. The board says this is necessary because of bylaw changes, which it passed this year, changing the composition of the board.
Previously, 11 board positions were elected as one-year term "district" representatives, and 12 positions were elected as "at-large" representatives for staggered two-year terms. The bylaw change means 18 of the 23 positions on the board will expire in 2011. The current board majority has decided to simply extend the terms of six members.
The bylaws do say "approximately one-half of the at-large members are up for election each year." But, there is no authority under the bylaws for board members to arbitrarily extend their own terms. Those whose terms expire in 2011 should stand for election in 2011.
There are other ways in which the board could ensure staggered terms under the bylaws. For example, some board members could volunteer to serve only one year, instead of two.
But they can't just extend their own terms for a year.
It seems to me that the mind-set that threatens democracy is not just in Libya or other faraway places; it is in our own back yards.
Art Buist
Rodgers Forge
The writer is a former member of the Rodgers Forge board (2005-2007) and is candidate for the board.