We Received Another Mass Email...

We have another mass email, so buckle up and let's dive right in:

For starters, it was sent from a very ambiguous-sounding "riverwoodresident2023@gmail.com,"

but this email address is reported to be owned and operated by resident David Donahue (although perhaps others have access to it, that part I'm not certain, but we have been informed that it is primarily David's).

As per usual, I will add my thoughts in Blue to save on confusion, and leave David's words in their normal font.

For starters, whoever provided Donahue with the mailing list he is using is possibly breaking the law, or at the bare minimum, is behaving entirely unethically. Aside from violating our neighbors' privacy, this is the email list from 2022's failed "get out the vote" initiative. Using the list for personal reasons is a gross misuse of HOA resources and a massive violation of privacy.

In addition, in all of the conversations I have had with Donahue, I don't recall ever hearing him engage in a civil conversation in a normal tone of voice. He seems to always be angry, and always be screaming at someone.

So here is his letter:

BEFORE YOU VOTE in the Annual Meeting for Riverwood, please consider the following:

Last year, one of the 2022 Board member was reelected, along with 8 new directors.

This part is true.

Their campaign was based on some outright lies, many half-truths, and self-serving agendas, and was, without a doubt the ugliest campaign in Riverwood's history.

The candidates campaigned on the tenets of Transparency, Responsiveness, Neighborhood Involvement, and Financial Responsibility. These are all areas where the 2022 board were severely lacking, and they have made great efforts and significant strides in most of these areas. I'm not seeing the "lies, half-truths, and self-serving agendas" Donahue is referring to.

In terms of ugly campaigns, I firmly believe the ugliness came solely from the ugly truths of what Boards of years past were trying to hide, finally coming to the surface.

Their campaign was childish - putting big red X's over candidate's faces - malicious and hurtful of their fellow neighbors.

To clarify: this campaign this year was run by the RiverwoorForward team, and is entirely independent of the board's decisions and actions. Our team's mission is, and has always been, to hold the Board accountable and to do everything we can to benefit our neighbors, whether or not it is in line with the Board's wishes. Regarding the red "x" thing, graphic design is used to get points across in every aspect of our lives. The team would like to apologize if it came across as childish, as that was not the goal. The goal was to indicate that certain candidates would be a step backward for our neighborhood, and we absolutely cannot go backward. I firmly believe that, and I think graphic design is a useful tool to get that point across.

These new directors then spent the first several months of their term arguing and fighting amongst themselves, to the point one director quit, and then they teamed up on  another director and had him removed, then appointed someone to fill his remaining term.

The infighting fully stopped when the mentioned board member was removed. Skipping over the fact that said director was removed WITH CAUSE, and there is reason to believe that the cause had to do with misuse of our neighborhood's finances (we'll cover that in a future blog post), the removed board member was always, without fail, one of the parties of each argument. Have you ever heard someone say that if a person has the same problem with everyone, that the problem is actually with them? As soon as the problem board member was removed, the rest of the problems followed him right out the door. I just hate that the other board member mentioned above was convinced to also followed him out the door, as the second board member, the one who stepped down, was a valuable asset to the board and the neighborhood.

[link: AUDIO: MEETINGS THEN VS. NOW]

So far this year, they achieved their personal agendas,

Which ones? I haven't seen any.

and they completed several projects the previous board had initiated,

Again, which ones? The completed projects were primarily maintenance that said previous board had delayed or ignored entirely, and were started and finished by the current Board under the leadership of Nancy Rigell.

but they produced very few original ideas that would improve Riverwood,

The most obvious example of this statement's falsehood is the recent Trunk-or-Treat/Meet the Candidates event, which is not only the most successful community event I have seen since I have been here, but also is in stark contrast to previous boards' desire to silence "opposition," as evidenced by their actions in previous elections.

or move Riverwood Forward (as their website claims as its mission).

Again, the RiverwoodForward movement has always been, and will always be, fully independent of any board. That's the only way for our team to be on our neighbors' side, which is, and will always be, our mission.

Throughout 2023, and now in their campaign for 2024, these directors have continued to attack previous board members

No attacks, just bringing things they've tried to keep hidden to light.

and prospective new board members,

This is an outright lie. Please, David, provide any evidence you have of the RiverwoodForward movement saying anything against candidates other than former board. In fact, the RiverwoodForward team is inclined to support Joe Brooks (despite his inclusion in Westphal's slate) alongside our candidates, as he would be an excellent fit for the board.

by spewing more or their half-truths and NEGATIVITY!!

All I have to say to this statement is, consider the source.

BE CAREFUL - if we continue to elect people that will use gross NEGATIVITY to get bash their neighbors and get their way, it eventually WILL DIVIDE US into an unhappy, and unprogressive neighborhood. I want Riverwood's future in the hands of individuals that act to promote, protect and improve Riverwood, not tear it apart.

The irony of this statement is not lost on me, given the "gross negativity," neighbor-bashing, and divisive speech spewed in this email.

We have already been an unprogressive neighborhood for many years, under the direction of many former Board members. That's why we voted them out. The RiverwoodForward Team truly feels like the three candidates we have endorsed this year, Nancy Rigell, Margaret Williams, and Mary Geer are the best choice to "promote, protect, and improve Riverwood." Other candidates have already proven by their actions to value their position on the board over all else, to the point of already trying to tear the neighborhood apart. 

These candidates, when voted out in 2022, scattered before the meeting was even adjourned without so much as a handshake, and refused to communicate with the incoming Board ever since. Their unwillingness to participate in any sort of transition didn't set up the incoming board for failure. It set up the neighborhood for failure. If they truly cared about their neighborhood, there were so many opportunities, so many committees and other capacities in which they could have served, but they chose their pride over their neighbors.

I am a firm believer in the notion that actions speak louder than words. I see the words in this email accusing one side of negativity and divisiveness, but the actions of the other side speak so much louder. So yes, be careful who you vote for. Please make informed decisions.