by Bob Shamo

Each year, in June, Park Tower holds an election to replace members of the Board of Directors  whose two-year terms are expiring. This year’s board election will occur on Monday, June 15, at 7:30 pm in the second floor Party Room.

The Board comprises five members, and three will be completing their terms this year: president George Pauley, and vice-presidents Michael Parrie and Tom Wartowski.

May 8 was the date by which candidates were asked to declare. The candidates who did so are George Pauley and Michael Parrie, both of whom wish to stand for re-election, and new candidates Joe Guzzardo and Jean Shamo.

These four candidates have been invited to participate in several “meet the candidates” events, to be held in the Party Room.

• Wednesday, June 3, 7:00 pm
• Saturday, June 6, 11:00 am
• Tuesday, June 9, 7:00 pm

Candidates may also be nominated from the floor on election evening but, of course, they will have forfeited these get-acquainted opportunities.

Only Park Tower owners may vote. There being three open positions, voters (one per unit) are entitled to three votes for each unit owned. Example: A couple owning the unit they live in will decide which of them will cast the vote. He/she then casts all three votes for a single candidate or distributes them as desired among the candidates standing for election.

To streamline the process and further safeguard the confidentiality of votes, the board modified its Election Rules earlier this year.

The Election Committee was eliminated and an auditing firm hired to tabulate the results.

The modified rules now assure that any inspection of ballots and proxies afterward will show only the percentage of ownership and the actual votes, but  not who voted for whom. (While proxies do need  specific owner identification when submitted, that information will be redacted after the auditing firm certifies the election.)

On June 15, owners who wish to vote at the meeting will register (picture ID required), receive  their corresponding ballots, and vote. Those who wished to vote by proxy will have already submitted completed proxy forms, and these will be exercised that evening by the auditing firm or designated representatives, assuming those persons have themselves been duly registered and authorized.

There no longer being an Election Committee, the auditor will oversee ballot counting, handle irregularities, and certify the results. Any substantive irregularities will be brought to the attention of the board.

As in past elections, owners may remain in the Party Room while the vote is counted. Winners will be the three candidates acquiring the largest vote, as calculated by percentage of association ownership.

Board Election Rules, which are more detailed than this story, were mailed to owners on April 17 and may be viewed online at PTCondo.com (Library tab/ Governing Documents/PT Rules & Regulations).

Candidates who declared prior to May 8 were invited to submit personal statements, which have since been mailed to owners.