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Nothing breathes a little life into a slow news week like some neighborhood listserv drama. The comments and tips line have been buzzing about the Cleveland Park Citizens Association turning the area into a "banana republic." How? Well, let's start from the beginning.
>A while back, there was a proposal for a new Giant to move into the west end of the neighborhood. As any reader of DCist knows, fights over grocery stores can be bitter, vicious, and lengthy. When one pro-Giant member of the Association felt his views weren't being represented by the CPCA, he started recruiting members in an effort to vote out the current leadership. This blatent power grab was described thusly by President George Idelson:
Normally, competition for leadership is healthy and our nominating process is wide open. Demonizing an association and encouraging a chaotic election is hardly normal. This is Cleveland Park, not some third world country... We need some time for cooling off [from the Giant debate]. Time to reflect on the issues. For these reasons, CPCA's Executive Committee has executed the emergency powers granted in our bylaws to postpone the election of officers until the Fall. This is clearly an emergency.Oh burn! Nice try with your coup there, dissident. Why don't you shove this state of emergency in your pipe and smoke it!
So yeah, the ensuing rage has filled many a Cleveland Parkers' inbox the last few days, with one side defending the many hours of volunteer work Idelson has committed to helping neighborhood businesses, and the other wondering when CP turned into Germany, circa 1933 (can you start a comment thread with Godwin's law?). Some of our favorite quotes are after the jump. Do tell us, CP-ers, how do you feel about this mess?
From Peter:
If fearing electoral defeat is cause enough to delay an election, we may have never had elections in 1992, 2000, 2004, or 2006.
From Warren:
While you speak about the "divisiveness" that is resulting from the normal election process, you ignore the fact that the position taken by the CPCA in its February 2009 resolution, namely, to require full financing in place before the procect is commenced, and to oppose the project in its current form and argue for its rejection to the Zoning Commission, was the original action that has led many in the community to question whether you actually represent the views of Cleveland Park as a whole, rather than a small group of people in control of the Association. By postponing the election, we will not get an answer to this question.
Ana gives her characterization of the debate:
What I am reading is the equivalent of "road rage" on the internet.
And an important history lesson from David:
Our nation's elections were contentious at least since Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ran against each other in 1796, and probably before that back to the first Congress, not to mention state legislatures and town meetings back to the founding of the Virginia and Massachusetts colonies. When the Democratic-Republicans disagreed with the Federalists about the nation's direction, the Federalists didn't say that Jefferson's "wild claims" were going to "tear the nation apart." Or maybe some did, but elections went ahead just the same, and in 1800, Jefferson beat Adams... Postponing an election is far more evocative of a "third world country" than running a voter registration drive to democratically change
policy.
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Won't someone think of the children?
Ugh. CPCA's Executive Committee is worse than, well, you know. That crazy Austrian guy? Had a buncha crazy ideas? Millions followed him? He sang "Der Kommissar" and "Rock Me Amadeus?"
That's right. They're worse than Falco. There. Somebody had to say it.
Meow! Cat fight!
Lol. This is soooo Ward 3. Could they play into the "latte liberal" stereotype any more? First you elect a "liberal" councilwoman who seeks to quash protesters and reserve gun ownership for the wealthy, and now the Prius-driving Stalinist pull this trick.
Nice evocation of Jefferson and Adams there. We had smug, self-righteous hipocrites during the Revolution, too. We called them "Kentuckians!"
Will the listserv ever be able to return to those innocent days of comparing nannies and recommending yacht clubs in belize?
Is this the same neighborhood assoc. with the guy on the crusade against outdoor Ping-Pong at the pizza place? Maybe that's the Ward for Jim Graham.
In breaking news, the CPCA has also voted to not accept any Gitmo prisoners and banned Tropic Thunder from the Uptown for using the word "retard" gratuitously.
It sounds like these folks are veterans of the GWU student government. That's the only place I've seen more ridiculous antics take place.
Hmm... Let's analyze Mr El Presidente's statements... We're not a third world country, and we'll prove it by seizing control with emergency powers... totally legit...
And Monkey, some of us Kentuckians remember the Whiskey Rebellion.
Batista, Trujillo, and now Idelson. You could say that he feared that the usurpers had a "plethora" of votes. VIVA EL JEFFE!
Well, since the leadership of the CPCA has in power since 1933, it is no wonder that some of the vestige tendencies creep out.
I like it when other neighborhoods can make the columbia heights listserv seem level-headed.
What? Thers a Banana Republic coming to DC USA? Great!
;)
ROFL, best comment so far today!
Oh my goodness. I know it's a good idea to participate in local governance, but these overwrought neighborhood ninnies (and they're not limited to Cleveland Park) make me never want to join a neigbhborhood listserv, ever.
I promise you that when it's all said and done, after the Ches and Fidels settle down, it'll be more of a Talbot's Republic than anything else.
Long Live the Middle Class!
And the disenfranchised form an alternate association in 5...4...3...
Ok, so someone needs to say something about how this whole thing got going. The CPCA has been holding up the renovation of the Giant on Wisconsin Ave for waaaaaayyy too long.
Have you seen this Giant? Ever wish you could experience what it's like to shop in North Korea? Maybe the CCCP circa 1989? Well you can! Come on down to the Wisconsin Ave Giant.
The owners of the Giant have listened to the community and revised their plans like 10 times (probably more) in the past decade or so as they've tried to get this place (and the other abandoned storefronts nearby-since I'm sure they love owning vacant retail space in Cleveland Park-that's not worth anything, right?) into some kind of reasonable shape. If they're allowed to go forward, there's a good chance that it would actually improve the community and local property values. It might make it a bit too much like yuppie-ville USA (aka downtown Bethesda - same company doing the design) but that's still a hell of a lot better than downtown Pyongyang.
The so-called leadership of the CPCA actually just represents the crazy old people who think the neighborhood needs to stay exactly the same as it was in 1950 when they moved in. I saw a message on this listserv that said something like, 'Well, you've only been in the neighborhood ten years, so you're still too new to weigh in on decisions about renovating a supermarket.'
Can you say crazytown?
Have you ever actually been to North Korea or are you just writing the first thing that comes into your head because your shopping experience at Giant was less than it could have been?
I've shopped at the Giant in Mordor. It's still better than the one on Wisconsin Avenue. At least the Mordor Giant still carries "luxury" items like milk, vegetables, and "manpons."
That's pretty much the treatment I got when I tried to contribute to the conversation on the listserv some months ago. I got this very terse message from someone at the CPCA telling me that just because I have lived here five years and live across the street from the Giant in question does not mean my opinion means anything.
I have since been able to contribute to the listserv. Now it could be I simply don't understand how to do it (I'm only an IT professional by day), so allegations of suppression of dissent may be out of order.
Could you publish the entire email from the pres. on the vote?
The entire email, unabridged:
The Cleveland Park Citizens Association welcomes the many new members who have joined in recent weeks. This is a president's dream come true and we look forward to their active participation. A recent listserv posting by a CP'r suggested that his call to join CPCA to "make sure all voices are heard" apparently spurred this membership surge. He also described a recent meeting where he and others offered suggestions for achieving broader representation. What the posting didn't mention is that those attending the meeting specifically requested an "equal voice" -- one-half the members of CPCA's Executive Committee -- either on the slate or as heads of our committees, for our upcoming election. They didn't spell out who these new candidates might be, but said such a "joint" slate would avoid an acknowledged, organized campaign to take over the entire leadership of CPCA at our annual meeting. The campaign urged people to join by a certain date, to be eligible to vote for this competing, unnamed slate. Sad to report, this campaign has been fueled by false charges that the Association opposes all change and development. It has distorted our position on the Giant development and makes the wild claim that the Association is responsible for store vacancies on Connecticut Avenue. That the campaign was orchestrated was demonstrated by some 60 bundled applications received by certified mail just before the specified cut-off date, by anonymous leaflets, and by private emails urging residents to join CPCA to "stage a coup." Normally, competition for leadership is healthy and our nominating process is wide open. Demonizing an association and encouraging a chaotic election is hardly normal. This is Cleveland Park, not some third world country. We are deeply dismayed over the divisiveness this campaign has caused in our community. Development issues can be contentious, but they ought not be used to tear the community apart. The Giant hearings have ended and the record is closed. The Zoning Commission will decide whether all the upzoning requested in our low-density neighborhood is worth the potential impact. We need some time for cooling off. Time to reflect on the issues. For these reasons, CPCA's Executive Committee has executed the emergency powers granted in our bylaws to postpone the election of officers until the Fall. This is clearly an emergency. In the interim, we will seek ways to mend this tear in our neighborhood fabric. We look forward to constructive support and suggestions.
George Idelson,
President
We look forward to constructive support and suggestions.
So long as they don't contradict me, George Idelson, President and Ringbearer of the Citizen's Association of Power. The language of their bylaws is that of Cleveland Park, which I shall not utter here. But in the common tongue, it reads:
One CPCA to rule them all, one CPCA to find them, one CPCA to bring them all, AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND THEM.
Seeing as JFK's birthday is coming Friday, we should echo his immortal words, "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of douchebags--born in the last century, tempered by NIMBYism, disciplined by emotional and physical constipation, proud of our affluent honkey heritage--and more than willing to witness and permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world."
Clearly "constructive" here means "doesn't poop on my parade."
That's pretty much the treatment I got when I tried to contribute to the conversation on the listserv some months ago. I got this very terse message from someone at the CPCA telling me that just because I have lived here five years and live across the street from the Giant in question does not mean my opinion means anything.
I have since been unable to contribute to the listserv. Now it could be I simply don't understand how to do it (I'm only an IT professional by day), so allegations of suppression of dissent may be out of order.
Sorry, my typing is poor. Occupational hazard.
Here is the response from the resident who has been aiding in broadening the CPCA membership:
As someone who has worked hard to increase community participation in CPCA, CPCA
leadership's decision to postpone its annual election was a disappointment and a
surprise.
During the last two weeks of April, myself and others recruited approximately 75
households to join CPCA. Our goal was to convince CPCA to increase
member-to-member communication, to solicit broader community input, and to seek
out diverse views. To me, this was an exciting opportunity to infuse CPCA with
new energy and new ideas. We saw this as the purest form of democracy -
recruiting new members to vote at the Annual Meeting.
On May 11th, three of us met with George and Evelyn Idelson and John Korbel to
mend fences with CPCA's leaders who had taken offense to our recruitment
efforts. We did this out of respect for George who is a dedicated community
leader as are our other neighbors who lead CPCA. We explained our desire to
work cooperatively and also praised George and the current CPCA officers on
their proven ability to engage with city policy makers and to organize
interesting meetings.
We proposed amendments to the CPCA bylaws that we believe would improve the
CPCA. For example, we hope to improve communication by creating a listserve, an
open CPCA directory, and an interactive website. We proposed ways to solicit
CPCA members' views by, for example, electronic polling and remote voting. We
proposed that actions by the CPCA executive committee be subject to full
membership vote in more instances.
It was also our idea to avoid a disputed election by naming a joint slate of
officers, including George continuing as President plus some current CPCA
officers and some new officers. The goal was that new members would have an
equal voice on the CPCA executive committee. This, we thought, signaled our
commitment to work hard for the broader, long-term good of CPCA and the
community.
CPCA's leaders never responded to our proposals. The listserve announcement
that the CPCA Executive Committee voted to postpone our election was the first
word from CPCA's leaders after our May 11th meeting.
The decision to postpone CPCA's annual election is a disservice to the
organization and to the community. CPCA is almost 100 years old and it has
great accomplishments and traditions. This is a time to celebrate CPCA's
accomplishments, to bring in new members, to strengthen its voice. Instead,
CPCA is closing itself off to its new members, insulating itself against
feedback and elections, and risking tarnishing its reputation - and ours - in
the city. Marc Fisher of the Post has already written one
story(http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2009/05/the_iron_fist_of_clevel\
and_par.html).
Several people have noted that delaying the annual election appears to violate
CPCA's Constitution and By-laws. Putting that aside, it is difficult to see how
in Washington, DC, the heart of democracy, a contested election could be viewed
as an "emergency."
We will continue working with CPCA's current leaders to hold democratic
elections as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we urge you to join CPCA and make your voice heard. Eventually.
If the Citizens Association is in violation of its bylaws, couldn't the city revoke the organization's non-profit status?
Wow, what a shit show! Reading about this reminds why I haven't gotten involved in anything bigger than the condo association of my building. I guess my (and many others) "lifestyles of the young and indifferent" stance is at least part of the reason why power-mad douches stay in place in these neighborhood associations.
I hope for these idiots' sake that Giant just raises a big middle finger and closes the CP store. Maybe that's what they want, I don't know. I've never understood nor could I ever stand NIMBY idiots.
That said, where exactly does this group cover? I never thought of CP going to Wisconsin, I always thought that Tenleytown.
Maybe we could convince one of the following stores to open:
Bent N Dent
ALDI
SharpShopper
Amelia's
Grocery Outlet
What the fresh hell?! First, here's where I'm at: 1. Not a resident of Cleveland Park (though once was, long ago), 2. I do have experience working in third world countries.
So, let me see if I understand this... Because there was recently a divisive issue, and because there is a possibility that a grassroots movement might lead to voting in a new set of officials, the group in question is invoking 'emergency powers' to postpone an election.
See, the really nutty thing is that right there--the whole "people are angry with leadership, we might lose an election, so we're putting it off"--*that* is the behavior of a third world country that hasn't yet gotten a good handle on the rule of law.
Look, I admit it, after over a decade of being a DC'r and active community activist, I tossed it in and moved to the MD burbs. One of the big reasons: much of my professional life is working with corruption and just outright asshat behavior like this in foreign countries, and call me lazy, but when I got home I wanted to take a break and enjoy a system of governance and civic organizations that didn't wholly blow really gross chunks.
p.s. I want a back-to-back ALDI and Wegmans . Just sayin.
Lost in the focus about the Giant is another theme in the Cleveland Park Citizens Association contest for control: payback. One of the organizers of the self-described “coup” at CPCA is the partner of Geoff Griffis, the controversial former chairman of the Board of Zoning Adjustment. The current CPCA leadership opposed Griffis’ nomination to the Zoning Commission, citing conflict of interest and other, uh, conduct allegations relating to Griffis’ stormy tenure at BZA. Griffis and his partner may now see an opportunity for possible payback.