Fred Klein Statement
Like many of you, I first heard about the assertions of impropriety at the Eastsound Water Users Association when the “recall water” website was announced in The Orcasonian and The Islands Sounder back in August, 2023. Again, perhaps like many of you, I was skeptical of the assertions being made regarding the actions of the Board as I knew most of the players and regarded them both as friends as well as men of integrity who had served the community well in various capacities over the years. BTW, I’ve been a member of Eastsound Water for 35 years and served on its Board back in the teens.
It was my reading of “AN OPEN LETTER TO EWUA MEMBERS” by Tenar Hall, the then recently resigned Secretary/Treasurer of EWUA, that really caught my attention. Published in late August, 2023, I sent it on to a number of Eastsound Water members with a suggestion that “reading this is worth your time”…and I invite readers to do the same.
After sitting down and discussing with Michael Riordan and Robert Austin, we decided to interview Tenar and found her to be quite credible; we also set up a meeting with EWUA’s General Manager, Dan Burke; and I had long conversations with (then) Board members Clyde Duke, Scott Lancaster, as well as an impromptu meet-up with Joe Cohen. The net effect of these interactions resulted in Michael, Robert and I posting a Guest Opinion on The Orcasonian dated October 9th, 2023 and entitled, “An open letter on EWUA management”
My initial conclusion was that the Board suffered from “good-old-boy” syndrome. After touting the need for gender balance while looking for a couple of “no nonsense, financially-savvy women”, I enlisted Teri Nigretto to run for a seat on the board. Some time later after she became Board President, Teri let me know that she considered the allegations of financial impropriety to be “settled business” and she was looking forward, not backward.
Since then, following some irregularities during and shortly after the 2023 election, the seven-member EWUA Board has broken into two factions, and the dominant Board faction continues to resist meeting its fiduciary responsibilities to members of the Association.
I strongly urge members to read our group’s meticulously footnoted “Things Fall Apart” White Paper” which details the evidence of financial mis-management of our member-owned Association before deciding whether or not to support the recall of the dominant Board faction.
If you believe as I do that the evidence demands that the Dominant Board Faction be recalled please sign the petition, the necessary first step for a recall to be accomplished.