Wasn’t that a party in Union Bay on April 30?

400 landowners showed up and voted to change the guard at the Union Bay Improvement District (UBID). Well, about 250 voted for change. The old guard, supported by the Union Bay Ratepayers Association (UBRA) got 150.

And wasn’t that a meeting?

Shouts of points of order, yelling at the chair, questions of the candidates from the floor (not past practice), cries of foul when voting started on time. The anger at the arrogance and misuse of public funds by UBRA trustees was palpable.

You should have seen the terrible planning and organization.

-One ballot box?
- One registration desk?
- One place to get coffee?
- One microphone?
- No floor microphone?
- No adequate provision for the visual presentation of the auditor’s report ?
- A chairman who let staff control the meeting?

Everything that demonstrated incompetence of staff and the old guard was there on display. No wonder the incumbents lost.

The bright spot of the whole meeting was the well-organized voting process conducted by Paul Baal. A motion at the beginning of the meeting to hold the voting as a timed item (3:15) was enthusiastically endorsed by the meeting.

Well, you should have seen the look on the faces of UBRA, deJersey and staff when 3:15 came and the meeting wanted to start voting, even before the reports finished or the meeting heard from Brian McMahon from Kensington.

Good organization by Mr. Baal assured that the number of ballots given out at registration was the same number as those cast. And to his credit, Mr. Baal had each scrutineer sign the vote results along with himself. An open and honest election, thanks Paul.

Bin Laden by bullets.
UBRA by ballots.

More to come I'm sure.