Eastlake III homeowners met in court last week to sort out unresolved issues surrounding multiple elections for the Home Owners Association’s board of directors.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa C. Schall confirmed that the board’s bylaws and Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions and Reservations must be followed for current and future Eastlake III HOA elections.
“I am very pleased with the judge’s decision on behalf of the Eastlake III community,” said board President Barney Reed. “The court’s decision solidifies the very rules the association’s attorney had presented to the community in February.
Reed filed a petition with the court on March 15 asking a judge to clarify election-related issues that have been the center of controversy during the past two elections.
In April 2015 the association’s election was deemed invalid when election inspectors would not certify the election because “election rules should have been adopted” but had not been.
According to civil code, a secret ballot double envelope should have been used for ballots; inspectors said this was not the case.
The former management company, First Service Residential, and the previous board members had stated to the membership that there were no election rules leading into the elections, according to court documents.
Because the election was not certified, the HOA held another election last August.
Reed is one of two board members up for reelection to a two-year term.
A new election is scheduled two months from now.
The Eastlake Concerned Home Owners, a group of homeowners, argued that elections should be held in the same manner that was practiced in the past.
But Reed maintains that community rules were not being followed.
Schall said she wants the next HOA’s election to follow the rules set in the HOA governing documents.
Those rules do not support cumulative voting by owners, which was a highly contested issue in the previous election last February.
Along with her ruling, Shall said the association is not obligated to reopen candidate nominations and delegate voting will not be permitted to carry the absentee ballots.
“Eastlake III is currently heading in a very good direction,” Reed said. “For the first time in many years, our upcoming board of directors election and all future elections will be conducted by court-approved election rules. It was a struggle getting here, but this important accomplishment means that no longer can one self-serving group of individuals have so much power over a community and its people.”
