BCTV application forms for new members were due in the BCTV offices before 6pm on August 22, 2005 to be eligible for voting in this year's annual meeting.
Approximately 75 applications were instead directed to the police evidence locker where they were stored until after the deadline had passed, an action that involved Lynn Corum, Tim Lindop, Mike Hebert, and Hugh Bronson according to published reports. Because of their unusual behavior, a substantial number of new members cannot vote this year according to BCTV rules.
Hugh Bronson, coincidentally, was named by Mike Hebert to the committee that will be investigating the matter internally at the station.
Lindop, while implicated, could be excused as he was just following orders at a time when his contract is up for renewal. It would take quite a person to disregard the wishes of the influential and scheming board members who told him to carry out their plan.
BCTV rules state in Section 2.3 that "Each member in good standing at least thirty (30) days prior to an annual meeting or special meeting shall be entitled to one vote at such meeting."
The new forms were returned by the police and were first seen in the BCTV office on August 29th, well after the August 22nd cut-off date for members in good standing. The actions taken by those conspiring to move member applications to the police evidence locker had the effect of disenfranchising 75 potential new members. By taking this action, the authenticity of these new ballots is called into question.
Had those conspiring followed normal proceedures, all applicants would have made the deadline. As it stands, only those taken from the office (and recorded appropriately before the deadline) can honestly be considered as legitimate. Unfortunately, those applicants with forms taken to the wrong room - the police station rather than BCTV - will now have to wait until next year's annual meeting to vote on member issues, if they turn out to be authentic and real.
Might some of these new applicants have desired to take their own applications into BCTV personally if they had known they would miss the deadline due to unauthorized antics by Corum, Hebert, and Bronson? Did these new members understand that their applications would not be delivered to the offices but to the police?
We are still waiting for a reasonable explanation of why this unapproved board action took place. The concern that forms might be tampered with is not acceptable. There are other sensible ways to handle that issue if it is truly a concern. Copy machines, for example, are rather commonplace. There are notary's within walking distance of the BCTV offices, too.
No, this tampering concern does not hold up when examined. Why resort to questionable after-hours behavior if the goal is to prevent tampering? It demonstrates a self-absorbed mistrust of the community, staff, and other board members. And it makes us wonder if the new ballots have indeed been tampered with by those moving them around in the night.
The actions of the conspirators is unbecoming of a community organization as vital as BCTV. Their actions cast a cloud over an organization in which a majority of community members and board members are working together for the interests of the station. In their paranoid zeal to put personal politics above the good of the community access station, they further aroused suspicions of impropriety. They also forced our local police into the matter, wasting their time and resources.
What other unapproved actions are they willing to undertake? How do we know this will not happen again? Are there other efforts underway to influence the annual meeting votes that will determine the organization of the next board, and direction, of the station? Are these late applications even legitimate?
This type of behavior is hurting the station and must stop.