R.F. from Fairfield County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
The Board of the Condominium where I have lived for the last 20 years repeatedly, arbitrarily and discriminatorily designates white owners; all newcomers to the community to fill the new vacancies in the Association. In the recent elections held on December 16, 2021, I was the third person with the most votes out of 5 candidates. The third seat vacant after a member resigned in the same week as the election was immediately filled at the election of the president by a white person who had gotten significantly fewer votes than me, who was the only Latino, when the logical option would have been me for the highest vote received. On three occasions there have been free positions on the Board, being chosen to fill it immediately by owners who have only months since buying the property and who do not even know the name of their next-door neighbor but who meet the sole requirement of being white of origin. A former president left a list of “recommendations” of only whites to fill the positions vacancies This has been so extreme that on one occasion a former president who no longer lived in the Condominium, told me that no one wanted to fill a vacated position in the Association.
Mister Condo replies:
R.F., I apologize for having to edit your question. It was a bit lengthy and far too specific for this particular forum. Clearly, you are incensed by the behavior of your Board, and rightly so from what you have explained. However, as long as the rules of election and appointment of folks to serve vacated positions are being followed, it would be very difficult to demonstrate the charge of racism that you allege. Elections are being held and legitimate candidates, yourself included, are not being forbidden to run. When Board vacancies occur, the seated Board is making appointments, as they are required to do by the rules of the association. I am not an attorney and offer no legal advice in this column. If you feel you have had your rights violated and wish to pursue the matter further, I am afraid your only true recourse may be a lawsuit should an attorney tell you that you have a winnable case. Racism should never be tolerated. However, it must also be proven. A court of law is the right venue to determine if laws have been broken. All the best!
I’m sorry this happened to you, it is possible it could be discrimination, even though process allows appointing anyone, not who got the next highest votes. They didn’t take you aside before short shrifting you and explain why they were going to appoint someone else, so you got a rude surprise. There is a federal law 24 CFR § 100.7 – Liability for discriminatory housing practices that might apply. You could look at CAI-CT website for attorneys in your area, for one who represents owners, hopefully for a free consult. It is possible that the person appointed has a skill they were in needing, such as having been an accountant, and they need a board member who could also serve as Treasurer, etc. Or, since you have been there long enough for them to get a sense you’d vote “no” where they want “yes” for their pet projects, so they wouldn’t willingly appoint you so you could nix their plans. You could ask the board to inform you of what they discussed prior to the appointing, and their reasoning behind as to why they chose the other person, and not you. If they provide a solid answer that shows they were aware that person possesses something needful, even though new, or a credible reason, then it could be legit. But if they simply say they have a right to appoint anyone they want, then you may want to seek counsel. But if your emotions run too high to talk civil with them about it, I’d just go to an attorney rather than have them find a reason to say you caused a disruption or similar.