As much as I don't like the term "Resident Speakout" that's what it is. What follows are the remarks I delivered at last night's meeting of the new Board of Directors for the Columbia Association.
Good evening, Members of the Columbia Association Board of Directors,
Congratulations on the beginning of your term as the elected leaders of the Columbia Association, the most important civic institution serving the city of Columbia, Maryland, and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.
It has been a profoundly challenging year for all of us, and the repercussions of the past year will be felt for many more to come.
I am coming before you, however, not with grievances or to second guess decisions made by the previous Board, but rather with the same hopeful and optimistic spirit that is a hallmark of the city we all call home.
Of all the challenges and opportunities facing the Columbia Association, perhaps the most important is the matter of governance. While the leadership and governance structure of CA has often been a topic of considerable discussion and debate over the last fifty years, attempts at reforming it beyond the transfer to community control in the early 1980s have languished. And now the conversation about reforming governance and elections—once one that gripped many Columbians—is largely non-existent.
Which is unfortunate because the byzantine, balkanized nature of Columbia’s elections, the paper distinction between the Columbia Council and the CA board, CA’s continued struggle to define itself, and other inherent challenges within this structure combine to create a system that is not as inclusive or representative of Columbia’s residents and stakeholders as it should be.
The structure we have was created largely out of expedience; it is now time to create one with intention.
As described in CA’s FY22 budget, the organization is in the midst of a profound transformation, the results of which will become evident in three to four years with a “repositioned CA”.
To go through such a transformation—one that will affect many aspects of life in Columbia—without the input of a broad, diverse spectrum of people, perspectives , experiences is to do a disservice to us all, to Columbia’s founding vision, and its future.
Columbia, indeed, was founded on the idea that our diversity could be our greatest strength if we had an environment that nurtured and celebrated it.
We need that strength now more than ever, and as the body tasked with managing such an important institution in uncertain times, I hope you’ll consider as a top priority establishing a formal, inclusive process to study Columbia’s governance structure and make recommendations for reforming it.
If CA is truly to be transformed, to have its many layers peeled back, examined, and potentially discarded, it is imperative that all of Columbia’s residents and stakeholders have meaningful opportunities to engage with and shape that process and its outcomes.
I am cognizant of my time limit but would be remiss if I didn’t say that I am happy to be of service in whatever capacity I can. I don’t have the answers, but I want CA and Columbia to be the best they can be and am willing to do whatever I can to make that happen.
There is much more I can say about this as I have given it considerable thought and attention, but I will withhold further comment in order to spend my remaining time sharing another, separate idea.
I think you should partner with local breweries to sell beer at the pools.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.
