Community Corner

Albert Olson Explains Why He Resigned from the MVCC

The following letter was sent to several community members by former MVCC Chair Albert Olson, explaining why he resigned in the middle of Tuesday night's Mar Vista Community Council Board of Directors meeting.

Hi,

I am responding to those who have kindly contacted me in the last few hours asking that I reconsider my resignation, and would like to very simply explain my , and my concern for the future.

The MVCC Board has taken great care to create a process for replacement of Directors. At its core is the principle that the Chair appoints the replacement Director subject to the approval, or ratification, of 2/3 of the Board. This is in contrast to other methods of making the replacement, such as an election process. In an election process, whether by votes of stakeholders or Board members, all candidates are voted on and the winner is the person with the most votes.

In an appointment process, such as the MVCC’s, the Chair is tasked with vetting candidates and making the tough choice of selecting the most appropriate candidate. In this context, the approval vote by the Board should be confined to judging the appropriateness of the Chair’s choice.  And more specifically, is there something about the candidate chosen that is inappropriate to the point that it merits a vote of no. This is a very different concept from what happened last night, where Board members were withholding votes in the hope that “their” candidate would be nominated during a later round of voting.

In essence, certain members of the Board attempted to turn the process into an election, rather than an appointment/approval process.

It had been my hope that Board members would trust the process and the judgment of the Chair, and allow this simple process to work. Clearly the candidate(s) who was appointed/nominated was an excellent candidate. I am saddened and embarrassed that we subjected her, and the other candidates, to such a debacle.  

Unfortunately, the candidate that some Board members were waiting for me to nominate, is one whom I in good conscience cannot. And I chose to not get into an unseemly dispute in front of the public regarding the issues concerning that person. No matter the outcome, it would have demeaned our process even more.

However, I have been threatened with grievance filings, I have been wrongly accused of acting in a “bullying” manner towards a candidate (and had to defend myself to City officials and our Councilman’s office), and it has become clear to me that this process will become even messier if I continue down the only path that I can in good conscience pursue, that is, the nomination of the candidate I have already put forward.  Because of this, I am hopeful that my resignation will defuse some of the problem, and allow Ms. Molinaro---or some other equally qualified candidate---to take their rightful seat on the Board.

I would recommend that once the Board has decided what to do about the current appointments that it revisit the Bylaws section that lays out this process. The Board needs to decide if it wants an election process or an appointment process. If it chooses to continue with an appointment process it needs to be simplified, so that there is not a “list” of candidates presented to the Board. I fear that this will lend itself to exactly the same sort of outcome in the future as occurred now. The Chair should just make the nomination, and the Board should be focused on the appropriateness of that person, not the possibility of others.

It has been an honor and privilege to be a part of the Mar Vista Community Council. And I have been truly blessed to have been elected by the Board for three years to serve as Chair.  It has been one of the most intense and rewarding experiences in my life, and I will always be proud of the many accomplishments we all, together, have achieved. I am confident that the MVCC will continue in its mission of providing an effective voice for the stakeholders of our community.

Thank You,

Albert Olson

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