When I completed my second term on the CCDD board, after five years on the CROA board, I swore I would never run again for a community board. Well, I lied.

My intentions were good. I believed that our community was filled with talented people who could put aside (or at least temper) their differences for the good of the community. I was only partially correct. There were some truly community-minded individuals who have served on the CROA board. A couple of them have come out of “permanent” CROA board retirement to run with me in 2024.

Celebration needs better leadership at this critical juncture. We have urgent maintenance needs to address. Repairing our infrastructure must take precedence over ANY new projects.

Communication between Town Hall and homeowners remains an ongoing weakness. I believe we need to go beyond anything we have done before and have actual conversations with our fellow residents.

Transparency must be preeminent. Private board meetings should ONLY happen when there is a personnel issue to be discussed, or litigation requires confidential conversations with CROA counsel. Period. Everything else (CROA e-mails between board members included).

Finally, the new CROA board must reduce confrontation in favor of considerate conversation. Members need to listen to one another. Conflicts of interest, no matter how minor they may seem, must be fully disclosed.

Finally, every board member’s power should be identical. No one member, no matter their title, should have any special authority or influence. We should always strive to find common ground, be willing to compromise, and treat everyone with respect at all times.