D.M. from Hartford County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
The president of our HOA will not be seeking re-election and will resign the position effective with the annual meeting scheduled for April, 2022. Should the board seek to fill the open position ahead of the annual meeting to allow the new president to conduct the meeting or should the existing president resign at the end of the annual meeting and let the remaining board seek to fill the open position?
Mister Condo replies:
D.M., not seeking re-election and resigning are two very different things. As long as the current HOA Board President is still in office, there is no reason he or she should not carry out the duties of the President at the Annual Meeting. Once the election is held, the torch is passed to the newly elected Board and its officers to carry on. If the Board President resigns before the Annual Meeting, it would be the duty of the currently seated Board to follow the rules for appointing an interim officer and/or appointing officers to fill out the term. Unless there are some other rules or regulations stated in your governing documents, any member of the Board remains a member until they either resign, refuse to run again, or lose an election unless they are removed for cause. From what you have told me, this is a simple case of a Board Member, who happens to be President, making the decision to not run again. All the best!
Normally one would want a member not running to run the meeting. Rather than someone on the ballot. And as required by law leaving new officers up to the new board to elect, rather than the old board anointing someone.