Two board members of the Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Woods Village were recalled at a special corporate members meeting Sept. 5 at the Performing Arts Center.
GRF President Jim Hopkins and Director Yvonne Horton were voted off the board 18-6 in a secret ballot by the directors of the Village’s three housing mutuals – Third Mutual, United Mutual and Mutual 50/The Towers – who are known as the corporate members.
“The vote speaks for itself,” Third Mutual board member Jim Cook said after the meeting.
More than 300 residents attended the meeting; 21 people had a chance to address the corporate members during the 30-minute comment window and spoke out against the recall.
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The recall was initiated by the Third Mutual board. It was “without cause,” which is allowed under GRF bylaws, and no reasons for the recall were given.
But at the meeting, Third board President Mark Laws said in a statement, “This recall is not about the decisions that the GRF board has made, but rather it is about the actions of Directors Hopkins and Horton, many of which are not seen nor experienced by mutual members.”
Among the reasons for the recall, Laws said, is Hopkins’ conduct of pushing his own opinions at board and committee meetings, disregarding other opinions and potential solutions, and seeking legal loopholes to circumvent requests from mutual board members if those requests deviated from his own agenda.
Laws mentioned the Building E Space Planning issue as one area in which, he said, Hopkins had been seeking loopholes.
Laws also said that as GRF treasurer, Hopkins refused to change GRF’s investment policy despite requests from United and Third board directors that he do so. Laws said that resulted in a loss of more than $1.5 million of residents’ money.
In addition, Laws said, “Director Hopkins inappropriately used his forum as GRF chair to denigrate the Third board’s action and its leaders, make up reasons for the recall, and use scare tactics to sway directors and members to his opinions.”
As for Horton, Laws said that during committee meetings, the director is “continually mean, rude and openly hostile to other directors, breaching the code of conduct signed by all directors as well as generally accepted standards of decorum.”
He said that the Third board had received many comments from residents agreeing that Horton should be recalled because of her “abrasive treatment” of residents.
Laws added: “What the Third board is objecting to is the ongoing behind-the-scenes actions and shenanigans of Directors Hopkins and Horton that are not appropriate for any board director regardless of which board they are on or the decisions their boards make for the community.”
Hopkins, in his remarks at the meeting, called Laws’ allegations a “pileup of charges.”
He said that as he listened to the remarks, “I was wondering who they were talking about and how they misread this.”
“It’s kind of interesting to hear all of the causes that were without cause,” he said. “One of the comments that I heard is that we’re uncommunicative. I don’t know how many of you know me here, but many times, you can’t shut me up. So I find that difficult to understand myself.”
Hopkins said he believes one of the reasons for the recall was indeed the Building E Space Planning issue – the fact that he opened up the discussions to residents, given the importance of the issue.
“Bottom line, it opened up to the community what before was going on behind closed doors,” he said, adding that “input from residents is how we function.”
Hopkins also defended his investment strategy of waiting to get out of bond funds.
“GRF generated another $600,000 in the investments as a result of waiting and getting out at select times. United lost an opportunity for another $350,000,” he said. “And for someone to come in and say that I should be recalled for mishandling investments, GRF is in good shape financially.”
Hopkins again proffered his belief that the recall was “about the weaponization of the recall statute to change the governance and management structure and balance set up by the GRF Trust … and endured in Laguna Woods for 60 years.”
He concluded by saying that “Yvonne and I sincerely apologize to anyone who has been offended by our straightforward nature.”
Horton kept her remarks in response to Laws’ statement brief, saying that “several things were untrue.”
“I believe it’s irresponsible for board members to lie and point fingers at other boards. It causes dissension in the Village,” she said. “I suggest that they step away from their computer screens and do some investigation for themselves. That’s what I do. … As chair of CAC (Community Activities Committee), I get up off of my rusty dusty and I go out and find out what these people need.
“You might not like some of my decisions, but nobody can say I’m not fair, and I look at every problem that is presented to me.”
Residents who spoke during the comment period had harsh words about the recall, calling it “shenanigans,” “buffoonery,” “cowardly,” “un-American” and a “kangaroo court.”
JR Davis called the recall process a “travesty of justice,” adding, “These people did nothing wrong. They are fine servants of the community.”
Gerry Geffin agreed, saying she was “impressed with (Horton’s) knowledge and broad-scale interest” and called her a “devoted worker for the good of the community.”
The financial costs of a recall was of concern to some residents, who called it “not fiscally responsible” and “wasted money.”
As for the Building E issue, residents stood on Hopkins’ side.
Jack Salvador lauded Hopkins’ move to open up the discussions to residents.
“There should be much more transparency in all of these processes,” Salvador said, calling the Building E process “a breath of fresh air.”
Carmen Pacella said he has heard nothing but glowing reviews of Hopkins and Horton. He also noted that GRF dues had gone up only $5 in 10 years.
“I want those people on my team,” he said, “not the ones that keep raising the dues every single year.”
After the meeting, Horton said in an email that she was grateful for the support she received from residents who signed petitions and attended the meeting.
“The only good thing that happened out of the recall was the residents becoming aware of what their mutual boards are doing,” she said. “And a lot of people aren’t happy.”
