Category Archives: Martin Garcia

Silverman wins vote, falls short of Stein Club endorsement

Elissa Silverman, At-Large Council election, Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, gay news, Washington Blade

Elissa Silverman (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

City Council candidate Elissa Silverman beat her four fellow Democratic rivals Thursday night at an endorsement forum sponsored by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club but fell short of capturing a 60 percent vote total needed to win the club’s endorsement.

Silverman, a budget analyst and former journalist, received 39 votes, or 54.9 percent, in a second ballot runoff against interim Council member Anita Bonds, who received 26 votes, or 36.6 percent. Five club members voted to “abstain” from choosing a candidate in the runoff balloting.

The five Democrats who competed for the Stein Club endorsement and two others – a Republican and a Statehood Green Party candidate – are running in an April 23 special election for an at-large D.C. Council seat. The seat became vacant when Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) won election last year as Council Chair.

Earlier this year, the D.C. Democratic State Committee, which Bonds chairs, chose her to fill the seat as an interim Council member until the special election is held.

At the Stein Club forum Thursday night, Silverman received 43.6 percent in a first ballot vote, with Bonds receiving 32 percent. Attorney and Ward 3 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Matthew Frumin received 14 percent on the first ballot; former at-large Council member Michael A. Brown received 7 percent. Attorney Paul Zuckerberg, an advocate for marijuana decriminalization, received 2.8 percent.

Close to one hundred people turned out for the forum, which was held at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington on Ridge Street, N.W., in the city’s Shaw neighborhood.

The voting took place after the five candidates gave opening remarks and answered questions presented by club member Earl Fowlkes, who served as the forum’s moderator. In response to questions by Fowlkes and written questions by audience members, each of the candidates expressed strong support for LGBT rights.

Many of the questions addressed non-LGBT issues, prompting the candidates to discuss their views on education reform, homelessness, unemployment, and the city’s procurement policies among other issues.

“I would have loved to have gotten the endorsement, but we had a majority of Stein Club members support me,” Silverman said after the forum. “So I’m thrilled.”

Silverman’s strong showing came after 14 prominent LGBT activists, most of whom are Stein Club members, announced their support for Silverman in an invitation to an LGBT “meet and greet” event for the candidate to be held at a Dupont Circle area gay bar. Among them are former club treasurer and transgender activist Alexandra Beninda and club members Barbara Helmick, Gregory Cendana, and Jerry Clark.

Another ten prominent Stein Club members, including former club presidents Kurt Vorndran and Lateefah Williams, announced they are hosting a separate “meet and greet” for Bonds.

“I think the candidates did a very good job tonight,” said Stein Club President Martin Garcia. “I think all of the candidates have a very good understanding of our issues. Unfortunately, today the club couldn’t come to a consensus on just one,” he said.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to be out and about participating in the election as we come closer to April 23,” Garcia said.

Frumin, who received the highest rating on LGBT issues from the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, a +7 out of a possible +10 earlier this month, said he was pleased with the vote total he received at the Stein Club forum.

“I didn’t do the process of recruiting members to come so you have voters who are there,” he said. “So people who voted for me were people who were hearing from me tonight for the first time, and I think getting the votes I got was a pretty good accomplishment.”

Supporters of Brown noted that Brown received strong support from LGBT activists in his previous successful race for an at-large Council seat as an independent. They said his vote total of just 7 percent at Thursday’s Stein Club forum was due, in part, to a better effort by Silverman and Bond to turn out supports for the forum.

Brown lost his re-election bid in November to independent David Grosso, who ran as a reform candidate. Political observers say Brown’s widespread name recognition makes him a strong contender in the April 23 special election, where a low voter turnout is expected.

Republican Patrick Mara is also considered a viable candidate in the special election because he has attracted a large number of Democratic voters, including gay Democrats, in two previous races for a Council seat.

Silverman worked as a reporter for the Washington City Paper as the paper’s “Loose Lips” political columnist before becoming a reporter at the Washington Post. Since 2009 she has worked as a budget analyst for the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute.

She told the Blade after the forum that her strong showing from Stein Club members was due to her positions and her approach to addressing both LGBT and non-LGBT issues.

“I think Stein Club members care about this city, they care about this city’s ethics, they care about spending our tax dollars well, they care about being an inclusive city,” she said. “Those are all things that are central to my campaign.”

During a discussion among club members following the appearance of the candidates, Stein Club treasurer Barrie Daneker urged members to vote for Bonds.

“Anita Bonds attended her first Gertrude Stein meeting in 1978,” he said. “She’s been supportive of our community for a long time…We couldn’t have a better candidate for the City Council,” Daneker said, on LGBT and all other issues.

Stein Club ready for future with new leaders

With the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club special meeting and election controversy over and the slate originally elected on Dec. 3 officially reaffirmed as the winners, the club can move to the work it is destined to do — advocate for the LGBT community of D.C.

Although the special meeting and the challenges brought forth may have raised a few eyebrows in the community and seemingly split the club into two factions, its mission was accomplished. Allowing members the opportunity to question, challenge, gain clarification and in some cases vent, the meeting was democracy in action at its best and much needed to help the club move forward.

After all, the club is a democratic organization that thrives on democratic principles. The special meeting allowed members to participate in a democratic process and gain clarity on a number of issues that raised flags of concerns.  I am sure that this will ultimately lead to a revision of the club’s bylaws, which will only help to allow the club to carry out its mission more effectively.

Additionally, the new leadership certainly has brought a lot of positive energy into the group by taking a page out of President Obama’s book and organizing to bring in a diverse group of new members who are “fired up and ready to go!” If you combine this energy with the renewed energy of the club’s existing members, 2013 and beyond is sure to bring great things for the LGBT community in Washington, D.C.

However, there is still a giant elephant in the room – the need of the new leadership to win those over who still doubt their leadership ability. No one is denying that winning over the doubters will not be an easy task. Yet, the challenges that the new leadership will face should not be used as a method of attack before they have had ample time to prove themselves. Countless organizations have had changes in leadership that may have caused a riff in the membership, but they have banned together for the good of the organization and its mission.

The Stein Club members and the community should allow the new leadership the time necessary to do exactly that, especially considering that the one thing that resonated in the special meeting was that there is still work to be done to improve the lives of those in the LGBT community. Yes, there have been great successes in the quest for equality in recent months in Washington, D.C., and across the country but you cannot rest on your laurels when all members of the community are not treated equally.

Among the work that needs to be done is reducing the number of hate crimes plaguing the LGBT community in D.C. This very important issue and others should now be the focus as we prepare to enter into 2013.

The special meeting, challenges and questions about the meeting are now in the past. That chapter has ended and it is time to move onto to a new one. In this new chapter, Martin Garcia, Angela Peoples, Vincent Villano, Barrie Daneker, and Jimmie Luthuli stand posed to lead a club with a rich history and tradition into a new era. This executive board, like those that have come before them, will continue the legacy and be staunch advocates for the LGBT community.

Membership in the organization is growing; fresh ideas are flowing and old and new members are eager to work together. We are “fired up and ready to go!” That’s what every organization wants and we have it. We need to embrace that.

I stand behind the club leadership and am ready to do whatever I can to improve the lives of my fellow LGBT brothers and sisters. Will you join me and do the same?

Jerome Hunt, Ph.D. is the outgoing vice president of administration for the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and a researcher specializing in “post-racial” black leaders and the black LGBT community. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of the District of Columbia. Reach him at Jerome.r.hunt@gmail.com or on twitter @jeromehuntphd.

Local activists reflect on Obama inauguration

The Washington Blade invited prominent LGBT activists in the D.C. area to share their personal thoughts about President Barack Obama’s second inauguration by answering this question:

“What is the significance of President Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 21, 2013, as you see it, and what are your hopes for his second term as president?”

 

Martin Garcia, John Klenert, Sterling Washington, gay news, Washington Blade

From left, Martin Garcia, John Klenert and Sterling Washington (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The Latino GLBT History Project looks forward to the historic second inauguration of President Barack Obama, featuring the first-ever Latino and immigrant Inaugural Poet — Gay Cuban American Richard Blanco.

Obama’s re-election is an important turning point for America. Millions went to the polls last November knowing they were going to vote for a leader who believes in marriage equality and ordered his administration not to defend parts of DOMA, issued orders to keep DREAM Act students and foreign partners in bi-national same-sex relationships from being prioritized in deportations, and signed into law the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and hate crimes legislation.

His actions helped move public opinion in support of equality.

This inauguration is special for many of us who have worked hard for our civil rights advances that have materialized with this administration.   Mainstream America symbolically endorsed our movement by awarding a second term to a leader who is ready to sign into law Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a fully-inclusive Employee Non Discrimination Act, and the Respect for Marriage Act that invalidates DOMA.

From reauthorizing Ryan White Act to helping low-income HIV/AIDS patients access medication, to filming an “It Gets Better” video to prevent LGBT youth suicide, to hosting LGBT leaders at the White House every Pride Month, to appointing more than 250 LGBT Americans to his administration, this president has rightfully earned a spot in our LGBT history timeline. He and first lady Michelle Obama care about our families. LHP looks forward to the next four years.

David M. Pérez

President

Latino GLBT History Project

This weekend is a time to celebrate! Our country solidly re-elected a marriage-equality-do-ask-do-tell president of color and this is historic and good! Hurrah.

As we look to what Obama’s second term can bring, we look to how the stunning progress on our issues happened during the first term. And the answer is organizing. My hopes for the second term are high because I’m ‘high’ on our community’s sophisticated, disciplined, hard-working, creative, inclusive LGBTQ groups.

Our organizations are at the table – in states, in cities, in election strategy sessions, and in meetings at the White House. We are coalition partners with labor, with public action organizations, with religious organizations. We have a history with working with progressive groups on health care so as the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) gets implemented, we’ll be there representing our community’s needs.

Social Security – we’re there talking about the needs of our elders and the need to protect this successful, critical program. The economy – so important especially to lesbians (on average women still make less than men), and to the trans community, which has an unconscionable unemployment rate – a healthy economy that gives everyone a fair shot at a good job is critical to our community.

We as a community are positioned to have another amazing four years of progress, IF we continue to organize and to build coalitions and alliances.

So, dear queer community, re-up your memberships, join another organization or two or three, give time, give money. Seize. This. Moment.

Barbara Helmick

Lesbian feminist, Democratic activist

The inauguration is a chance to celebrate the re-election of the first black president of the United States. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the progress we’ve made while recognizing the serious challenges that lay ahead.

Barack Obama made history by publicly announcing his support for marriage equality, repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and appointing a record number of openly LGBT administration officials.

President Obama’s victory, for me, meant that we are one giant step closer to realizing his vision of a more compassionate, generous and tolerant America. It provides us a chance to hold him accountable and gives Obama the opportunity to lead and continue pushing the envelope.

In Obama’s second term, I expect bold, visionary and transformative action.

People of color, women, youth & members of the LGBT community went from being the Rising American Electorate to THE electorate. We are committed to breaking down silos, being more proactive and staying grounded in our collective struggle for justice and equality.

Whether addressing the economy, immigration, gun violence or any other issue, we expect the president to not only be a supporter of our issues and communities, but to be a champion for them.

Gregory A. Cendana

Executive Director

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance-AFL-CIO

The inauguration is a time for LGBT Democrats to celebrate all the hard work they put into re-electing President Barack Obama. It gives us a chance to reflect on the significant impact that the election has on DC, the LGBT community and our entire country.

Electing then re-electing our nation’s first black president is historic itself, especially as we pay tribute to Martin Luther King’s dream of justice. To add to that a president who unquestionably supports LGBT equality marks a path toward a future that brings us all a little closer to Martin Luther King’s vision.

Personally, re-electing President Obama, sending six LGB identified lawmakers to Congress and electing our first United States senator, Tammy Baldwin, fills me with joy and hope for our country. It shows that conversations about our lives are much more meaningful than smear attacks by corporate Super PACs.

While Barack Obama is the most pro-equality president in history, there is still much to be done by this administration and Congress. President Obama’s second term gives voters and our community a chance to push us even further toward equality. We must hold the president accountable and encourage him to champion our issues like comprehensive immigration reform, and lead this country with the passion and vigor we first saw from him in 2008.

Martin Garcia

President

Gertrude Stein Democratic Club

What is so significant about this inauguration? In our nation’s history, certain second-term presidents confirm that a major cultural shift or realignment of the electorate has occurred — Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Reagan and now Barack Obama can be added to that list as America transitions to a majority minority populace. (I am not saying that President Obama is in the same league as those mentioned. It is far too early to see how history judges him.)

There are three areas of second-term hopes: international, national and local. In the foreign arena, in no particular order: details of the Middle East wars, the Arab Spring, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries will need a steady long term, non-Fox approach to our mutual security. In the Far East, our Pacific attentions with China’s continued rise in military, space and economic strength and the challenges on how to deal successfully with a mad North Korea will keep both State and Defense Departments busy. In our own hemisphere, it is long overdue that we admit our 50-year approach to Cuba needs some serious rethinking.

National wishes include the successful implementation of the health care program, slow and steady economic growth, a national voter registration program, an immigration program that both parties can agree to without building embarrassing walls against our Mexican neighbors, acceptable gun control programs that keep both hunters and school children safe, ENDA passage, more than just one openly LGBT ambassador and/or Cabinet member and federal judges at all levels, DADT transgender inclusion, and a carefully managed DOD downsizing.

Locally, hope that the president will finally speak up about the lack of true congressional D.C. representation. We must noisily demand what is only our American birthright: representation in our legislative body. While dining out at our restaurants is certainly appreciated, it’s time for the White House to speak out forcefully on this unsettled civil rights issue.

So, good luck, Mr. President! May the next two to three years bring the successes that all Americans want and deserve.

John Klenert

Gay Democratic and D.C. voting rights advocate

It is very fitting that President Obama’s second inauguration falls on the national holiday celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Besides his historic place as the nation’s first African-American commander-in-chief, President Obama is also the most pro-LGBT individual thus far to hold the nation’s highest office. I see clear correlations between the philosophy of Dr. King and President Obama’s commitment to fairness and equality for all Americans.

My hopes for his second term are that the nation will continue on the road to economic recovery, that the unemployment rate continues to fall, that the debt ceiling is raised enough to keep the nation from defaulting on its obligations, and that effective environmental and gun control measures are passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. I would also like to see an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

Likewise, seeing the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act become the law of the land is high on my list. With the possibility of at least one Supreme Court justice retiring in the next four years, I hope the president can appoint another LGBT-supportive justice to the high court.

Sterling Washington

Director

Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs

Local gay activist tapped to lead Stein endorsement forum

Earl Fowlkes Jr., Black Pride, Washington Blade, gay news

Center for Black Equity President Earl Fowlkes, Jr. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Democratic National Committee member and gay activist Earl Fowlkes of D.C. was scheduled to serve as moderator Thursday night, March 21, at a candidate endorsement forum where five Democrats running in a special election for an at-large D.C. Council seat were expected to court LGBT voters.

The event, organized by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group, was scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, 474 Ridge Street, N.W.

“Any candidate hoping to represent the entire District must be a vocal advocate for the issues our community cares about,” said Angela Peoples, the Stein Club’s vice president for political and legislative affairs.

“As the largest LGBT organization in D.C., the Stein Club is well positioned to endorse and use the organizing and fundraising powers of our members to help our chosen candidate push for victory on April 23,” the date of the special election, Peoples said in a statement.

Fowlkes, who served as an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention last summer, was chosen by the club’s officers to preside over a forum in which club members appear to be dividing their support among several of the candidates with strong records of support for LGBT rights. He also serves as CEO and president of the Center for Black Equity, a national LGBT advocacy organization.

Fourteen prominent club members, including former Stein treasurer and transgender activist Alexandra Beninda, recently announced their support for Elissa Silverman, a former Washington Post reporter and current budget analyst for the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. The 14 activists are hosting an LGBT “meet and greet” for Silverman at the 17th Street, N.W., gay bar Cobalt on April 6.

Another ten prominent club members, including former presidents Kurt Vorndran and Lateefah Williams, announced they are hosting their own “meet and greet” for Anita Bonds, chair of the D.C. Democratic State Committee. The State Committee earlier this year elected Bonds as interim Council member for the at-large seat until the special election is held on April 23.

Other club members, along with LGBT activists not affiliated with the club, are backing Michael A. Brown, a former at-large Council member; and Matthew Frumin, an attorney and Ward 3 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

Not as many Washington D.C. LGBT activists have surfaced as backers of the fifth Democratic candidate, attorney and marijuana decriminalization advocate Paul Zuckerberg. But Zuckerberg says he is reaching out to LGBT voters.

All five Democratic candidates scheduled to appear at the Stein Club’s endorsement forum Thursday night have expressed strong support for LGBT equality, including marriage equality for same-sex couples. Brown, the only candidate who has previously served on the D.C. Council, has a strong voting record in support of LGBT rights, including his vote for the city’s same-sex marriage law in 2009.

With the club’s membership appearing to be divided among the candidates, it was unclear going into Thursday night’s forum whether any candidate would obtain the 60 percent vote among club members needed for an endorsement under the club’s rules.

“Stein Club members care deeply about this city and the people who live in it,” said Stein President Martin Garcia in a statement. “Electing the best Council member for our city’s LGBT community is part of the responsibility we have to the District.”

The remaining two candidates in the special election who are not Democrats – Republican Patrick Mara and Statehood Green Party candidate Perry Redd – have also expressed strong support for LGBT rights.

Mara, who has run for the Council before, has attracted gay and non-gay Democrats as supporters and is considered by political observers to have a shot at winning in an election where a low voter turnout is expected.

The five Democratic candidates’ responses to a Stein Club questionnaire asking them to state their positions on LGBT issues can be viewed at www.steindemocrats.org.

Stein Club special meeting upholds election of new officers

Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Washington Blade, gay news

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

More than 70 members of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club voted by an overwhelming margin Wednesday night to uphold the election two weeks ago of three new officers who gained control of the club in an upset victory.

The vote came in a special meeting called one week earlier by the club’s current officers to consider whether to invalidate the Dec. 3 club election of Martin Garcia, 27, as president; Angela Peoples, 26, as vice president for legislative and political affairs; and Vincent Villano, 26, as vice president for administration.

“We were all very excited to reaffirm the election of Marin Garcia and his slate,” said outgoing Stein Club President Lateefah Williams, who lost to Garcia by a vote of 47 to 45.

“And I’m very happy that we’re going to be moving forward as a united Stein Club,” Williams told the Blade after the meeting.

In a gesture aimed at avoiding a rift between the club’s old and new members, Williams withdrew from contention for the club presidency in the event that the special meeting voted to invalidate the election of the new officers and called for a new election.

“The new members have a hill to climb here with the old members,” said Stein Club treasurer Barrie Daneker, who won re-election unopposed after Garcia and his supporters chose not to run candidates for the treasurer and secretary’s position.

Berrie Daneker, Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Washington Blade, gay news

Berrie Daneker (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

“But I’m confident that once they see their leadership and if they produce, then Gertrude Stein will be stronger than we’ve ever been in our 37 years of existence,” Daneker told the Blade.

Some feared that a bitter argument would erupt at the special meeting over a proposed challenge to the validity of 17 of the 46 new members who joined the club less than a week before the election.

The new members, who Garcia and his supporters recruited, are believed to have given Garcia, Peoples, and Villano their razor-thin margin of victory over Williams and her slate of candidates seeking the two vice president positions.

But during nearly two hours of discussion, no one moved to take action against the 17 new members, who came under question during the past week when the home addresses for eleven of them couldn’t be verified. Others questioned the qualification of six of the 17 new members who joined under a special membership category with a reduced fee of $15 restricted to students, senior citizens, and limited income people. The club’s regular membership costs $35.

Although many expected the special meeting to divide along the lines of the longtime club members and the new insurgent members who gained control of the club, those speaking in support of upholding the election and withdrawing the challenge came mostly from the ranks of the old members.

Gay Democratic Activist and longtime Stein Club member Bob Summersgill said no one presented any evidence or valid rationale for disqualifying any of the new members.

“There is nothing in the bylaws that says anything about where you have to live,” he said. “There is nothing in the bylaws to define low income.”

Gay activists Lane Hudson and Steve Gorman, who are also club members of longstanding, said they were impressed with Garcia and his supporters’ political organizing skills that enabled bring in close to 50 new members.

Garcia told the meeting that he and the new members that supported him have been involved in local and national politics and Democratic Party activities. He said his objective are to strengthen the Stein Club by bringing in more members with diverse backgrounds so it can do more in its longstanding role as the city’s largest LGBT political organization.

Transgender activist and longtime Stein Club member Jeri Hughes, who was one of the members who challenged the club election, surprised some at the special meeting when she said the meeting should not vote on the question of invalidating the election or challenging memberships.

Instead, Hughes proposed bringing up the invalidation question at the club’s next regular meeting in January.

As she has in Facebook postings and in a Blade commentary, Hughes called the election a “farce,” saying the winning side “stacked” the election meeting with people who were “strangers” to the club.

While the new members acted within the club’s rules and bylaws, “that doesn’t make what they did right,” she said.

However, when fellow club member Ed Craft told her later that he planned to withdraw from the club because of his objection to the new officers’ takeover, Hughes urged him not to do so.

“I don’t think these are bad people,” she told Craft in a Facebook message Wednesday night. “I think they did something wrong…and foolish, but the club does good work and has done good work. We can still do good work. Leaving serves no purpose.”

Martin Garcia, Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Washington Blade, gay news

Gertrude Stein Democratic Club President-elect Martin Garcia (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Former club president Kurt Vorndran, who was among the longtime members who called for letting the election of the new officer’s stand, introduced a resolution calling for changing the club’s bylaws to restrict the ability to vote in the election of club officers to people who have been members for at least 30 calendar days.

The club voted to table Vorndran’s motion, with the intent to bring it up at the next regular meeting in January.

Craft told the Blade he believes many of the old members will withdraw from active participation in the club due to the flap over the election and for what he said was the failure of the special meeting to enable longtime members to raise concerns and ask questions.

“I feel the meeting tonight was a complete farce,” he said. “I feel it was staged, that Lane Hudson through his motions made it impossible for the meaningful exchange of information that was the purpose of this meeting to take place.”

Craft was referring to a set of rules governing the meeting that Williams and the existing Stein Club officers proposed at the beginning of the meeting. Nearly everyone president voted to approve the rules, which, among other things, limited the time people could speak on a specific issue to two minutes.

While Craft spoke to the Blade immediately after the meeting adjourned, club member Robert Brannum shouted to the members collecting their belongings and leaving the meeting room that he was outraged he wasn’t allowed to speak during the closing session of the meeting. When Brannum, who spoke earlier in the meeting, requested to speak at the closing session, Hudson and other members objected, saying the rules adopted at the start of the meeting prevented him from doing so.

“The whole purpose of having an orderly meeting is to achieve the objectives of the meeting, and that’s what we did,” Hudson told the Blade. “People had their say, they came together and we’re in a much better place than when the meeting began.”

In a statement she sent to the Blade Thursday morning, Williams said more effort will be needed to heal the rift between all of the old and new members.

“I think the meeting was successful as an initial first step at dialogue between long term and new members and bringing both groups together,” she said. “Unfortunately, due to some motions that ended the dialogue early, some members still feel that they did not have an opportunity to have their questions addressed.”

Williams added, “I think the key is to look at this meeting as the beginning of the process of healing and not the culmination of it. I hope that all members continue to engage one another to work through any concerns that may still exist. I wish the new board well and I hope that they continue efforts to help bridge the gap between long term and new members.”