“You know what’s happening. Property values are stuck, getting a mortgage is a nightmare, and getting financial information is harder than canceling a gym membership. The board runs this place like high school cliques deciding who sits at the cool table. I’m running because I’m not running to make promises. I’m running to get results.”
THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
It’s important to give credit where it’s due, but we also have to be brave enough to name what isn’t working. When our HOA leadership falls short, we owe it to ourselves and our community to speak up and act. That’s how we build the kind of neighborhood where good decisions happen, where leaders take responsibility for outcomes, and where our homes and our daily lives get better instead of harder.
Under Board President Scott Timmerman’s leadership, our property values have sagged and it’s next to impossible to secure a good mortgage. We’ve seen rule changes that feel more like punishment than community building. This isn’t the direction any of us signed up for when we chose to call this place home.
Timmerman and several of his key committee chair appointments are running for re-election this year, and choosing them means more of the same approach that hasn’t served us well. We deserve leaders who understand that their job is to serve this community, not control it.
Voting out Timmerman and his appointees sends a clear message that we’re ready for meaningful change. I’m willing to step up and be part of that change, but I can’t do it alone. This is about all of us deciding what kind of community we want to live in.
My Platform
As a board member, I will work toward the following goals:
Your monthly fees are too high. We can lower assessments by up to 10% without cutting corners on what matters, by fixing our financial systems and adopting the basic business practices any well-run organization should already use.
We track over $12 million annually using spreadsheets. That means we can’t catch errors, we can’t see problems coming, and we can’t give you clear financial reporting. Office staff also lose time to antiquated platforms, time they could spend serving owners. Moving to a real accounting system will save money, reduce mistakes, and give the board the tools it needs to manage your money properly.
Lowering assessments also means lowering what you actually pay. Removing bulk cable and internet fees from assessments changes the line item, not your total cost.
Right now it’s hard to get a mortgage in our building, and that hurts everyone’s property values. Buyers’ attorneys and lenders read our House Rules and look at our legal history before closing. Vague rules and avoidable legal disputes are exactly what make them slow down and start asking questions. I will work to fix the policies creating that exposure and work directly with lenders to rebuild our reputation.
It also means planning for what our building physically needs. Our plumbing stacks are over 50 years old and can’t keep up with how residents live today. The board’s answer so far has been to write rules that bill individual owners for blockages at the shared stack, where waste from multiple units mixes before a clog forms. I will push for a capital plan to replace the stacks. Until then, costs that can’t be traced to a specific unit should be treated as a shared building expense.
Your home should be an asset that’s easy to finance and easy to sell.
Learn More: When Rules Get a Rewrite, Here’s How to Read Between the Lines
Every House Rule I vote on will have to pass six tests:
- The trigger is defined. Words like “offensive,” “annoyance,” or “disturbance” need a threshold, not a label applied after the fact.
- Contesting a fine never costs more than the fine. No uncapped “any costs” language.
- It accounts for how people actually live. Work schedules, service animals, and ordinary phone use all need to be considered.
- It can’t be used to punish an owner for speaking up. Vague standards make that possible, so the standards can’t be vague.
- The board explains why now. That means a cited reason, not a one-line rationale.
- Owners can see the legal review behind the change. It must be the actual opinion, not a summary.
The same standards apply to specific rules owners live under every day. Quiet hours should end at 7:00 a.m. so working owners can get ready without risking a fine. Incidental appearance in a video call or selfie should not require permission. Animal disturbance standards should be as specific as noise standards, with an accommodation process covering anyone in the household who handles a service animal. Board meetings should be guaranteed to start after standard working hours.
Learn More: When Rules Get a Rewrite, Here’s How to Read Between the Lines
You deserve to know where your money goes. Financial statements, budgets, and spending should be easy for you to access, and you should have input on big financial decisions. Transparency isn’t a favor the board grants. It’s your right as an owner.
Some of those rights are written into Illinois law. The voting member list is a right under the Illinois Condominium Property Act, not a document request. Yet an owner who asked for it electronically, and offered to pay, was told paper only and received four different explanations over four months. I will make sure rights guaranteed by law are fulfilled directly and electronically when requested, and that the Association reports what it spends in legal fees processing owner requests.
Legal counsel advises the board, but the board makes the decisions and answers for them. When the board cites legal advice as the reason for a decision, directors should see what counsel was asked and what counsel said. A board that followed the right process has every reason to show its work.
Learn More:
It’s 2026, and you should be able to vote from your couch. Digital voting means more people participate, fewer errors, no outside influence, and better security than our current paper system. Scott Timmerman has blocked efforts to adopt digital voting the entire time he’s been on the board. I want to change that.
When more voices are heard, better decisions get made.
For ten years, board policy has limited your voice. You can only speak at four meetings per year. Nothing you say gets recorded. Board members are told they don’t have to respond to your questions. Only the president hears from you, and nothing requires your concerns to reach the rest of the board. I want to reverse every one of these policies.
Reaching the board shouldn’t require going through the office. Board members currently use personal email for Association business, so every message to a committee chair gets routed through our office manager and back again. Board officers and committee chairs should use Association email accounts and proper document storage. That is more efficient, more secure, and makes it easier to reach the people you elected.
Your feedback should also shape decisions. Surveys should be neutral, sent to every owner rather than one per unit, and conducted through a transparent process, so that your answers inform decisions instead of arriving after they’re made.
Learn More: The Dangers Of Unsubstantiated Claims
The payment system our board endorses doesn’t give you basic consumer protections. When you pay online anywhere else, you have rights under federal law. Here? You’re signing away those rights and giving the association permission to take any amount from your bank account. Worse, your banking details are stored on servers that were hacked in 2022.
You deserve the same protections paying your HOA fees that you get buying coffee online.
Our building has two teams. The door staff, maintenance, and receiving room employees work directly for the Association. The office staff work for our management company.
Every holiday season, both teams share the owner-funded Holiday Fund. The Association then pays a second bonus to management company staff, but not to its own employees. The union contract permits the Association to pay discretionary bonuses to its employees, with the only requirement being notice to the union. In December 2025, a motion for a $28,000 bonus for direct employees was referred to the Finance Committee rather than voted on. I will support Association-funded recognition that is equal across both teams.
The Holiday Fund itself should run as a formal, board-approved program with:
- A written distribution policy
- No reductions for staff on approved leave
- An anonymized accounting of what was collected and paid out
- Clear authorization, with employee notice, before any employee data is shared
- Full compliance with tax and charitable solicitation law
The fund collects over $100,000 a year from owners and uses Association staff, printing, and mailing. Owners who contribute deserve to see how it works.
Learn More:
Our HOA has no ethics policy for board members. I will present and support motions to adopt the following provisions as a House Rule, and vote for leadership who support them:
- Conflict of Interest: Board members must disclose any potential conflict and recuse themselves from related votes. No board member can receive payment from our management company, directly or through another business, unless every board member votes to approve it and all owners receive full details about the arrangement and payments.
- Open Bidding: Every qualified vendor gets an equal opportunity to compete for Association contracts, through open bidding and clear processes.
- Committee Formation: Committees are formed only by majority vote of the full board. The president does not create committees or appoint their leadership alone.
- Impartiality: All homeowners are treated equally, with no favoritism and no retaliation against people who speak up or disagree.
- Confidentiality: Your private information stays private.
- Transparency: Decision-making processes are open and clear.
- Accountability: Clear ways to report and investigate ethical violations, including an independent ethics committee.
- Education: Ongoing ethics training for all board and committee members.
- Non-Interference: Board officers cannot publicly endorse candidates for the board.
Learn More: The Board President Put It In Writing
Here’s How You Can Make A Difference…
VOTE!
Right now, our board leadership is counting on us to stay disconnected while they make decisions that affect all of our lives without truly listening to what we need as a community. Every single vote carries weight because it’s how we create a neighborhood that reflects who we are and what matters to us.
When you show up and participate, you’re saying that you believe we deserve leadership that operates with honesty and accountability. Your voice matters, and the choice to engage is how we build the kind of community where everyone belongs.
Talk to your neighbors.
Your vote matters, but it’s not enough on its own. The people making decisions about your property values and happiness shouldn’t be chosen by just a handful of residents.
Have those conversations that might feel awkward. Ask your neighbors if they’re planning to vote and send them a link to this site.
Change doesn’t happen when good people stay quiet or assume someone else will handle it. Every conversation you have could tip the balance. Your neighbors deserve to know they have a choice.
Curious to learn more about some of these issues? Feel free to get in touch, I’m happy to chat.