Reader Comment: Should I Run for the Board?

On July 24, an anonymous reader posted a comment to my April 9 Blog entitled "Upcoming Posts". Here is their comment and my response.

"Norm, you are a very observant BLMH owner, with interesting views and many comments about how the board operates. If you have all this free time to attend all meetings and write about them in your blog, why don't you become proactive and run for a position on the board. Let's see how well you can do".

Good question, and worth considering. Here are a few issues and concerns I have about becoming a board member:

1. I'm open to a serious conversation about the pros and cons of my running for the board. I am considering running and I have concerns about that.
2. The reader got it right. I can use "free time" to write this blog. That is sometimes time spent late in the evening or very early in the morning. This blog is sometimes written at a great distance from our city. Board business doesn't occur in the middle of the night and meeting are grounded near BLMH. I attend meetings as a choice and can choose not to, should business or other matters interfere. As a board member, I would not have that freedom. Being a member of the Board of Managers is a commitment I would not take lightly. That could create a problem as I might have mutually exclusive commitments to contend with.
3. I realize this blog has limited impact. Officially, it does not exist and is ignored in the published newsletter, etc. Unit owners who cannot attend meetings, unit owners who only get information on BLMH via the newsletter, etc. are not aware of many of the issues at BLMH or of the existence of this blog. I am relying upon you, the reader, to pass the existence of this blog to other unit owners who may be unaware of its existence. I think informing unit owners of what is going on in our Association is a useful service, and I consider what I am doing as "proactive" but limited.
4. As a writer of this blog, I can report somewhat independently. A member of the Board of Managers is supposed to limit his or her communications to what is essentially "the will of the Board". A board member is required to uphold his and her "fiduciary duties". That is not a request, it is a requirement. The Illinois Condominium Act, the Oath and Agreements that are made by each member of our Board are not an elective and cannot be selectively honored or ignored. They are a requirement for the position. That is not my opinion; it is fact and in the case of the Act, it is law. A Board member may choose to skirt or ignore the law and agreements, but should not do so and is prohibited from doing so. There can be legal consequences. When current board members act independently or sometimes ignore their fiduciary duties, that is a choice they make and there should be consequences. If I were to become a member of the board, I would be bound by the Act, Oath and Agreements. If I were acting in good faith and with integrity, I would be at a disadvantage to any board member who operated differently.
5. As a member of the Board of Managers, I do not believe I could continue this blog. Association Newsletters, websites, etc. are each "official" communications of the Board of Managers. They are the Board approved communications to the Unit Owners, or are supposed to be. Presently, our newsletter is not. Obviously, this blog would have to cease or change dramatically if the writer were a member of the Board. That is one of my criticisms of some board members. They operate at times in a manner that is independent of the Board. They should not. Of course, there is always the possibility that someone else will continue this blog. However, at present I am unaware of that person's existence. Are you interested in the job?