It takes just a word or two to accuse a person falsely, but it’s far more difficult and time-consuming to defend against the falsehood. Mark Twain described the difficulty: “A Lie will travel half way around the world before the Truth gets its boots on.”
Rhonda Stiff is organizing a deceitful petition drive to oust hardworking president Philip Wemhoff. In her arguments you will notice that she omits all proof. Despite no evidence, she makes the following claims, each deliberately bogus.
False Claim 1: Mr Wemhoff “makes trying to get work done very difficult.”
How is that possible? Work is done by the hired staff and by the Board. Rhonda and partner Ryan Lehtonen have been president for the past year, and their 2-vote majority got every measure passed which they desired.
And, Rhonda-Ryan took pains to keep Mr Wemhoff in the dark. He was not consulted on agenda items. FirstService staff was urged to report his activities to Rhonda. His special meetings were given short notice to reduce attendance – and Rhonda insisted that their minutes not be recorded.
Rhonda and Ryan passed a Board resolution which prevented Mr Wemhoff from pursuing the construction solutions that he was elected to resolve. Mr Wemhoff was ordered NOT to speak to anyone outside the organization and not to visit the Association offices.
Rhonda fired the crucial construction inspector that Mr Wemhoff had hired (hired before Rhonda’s illegal takeover). And, there is more.
For a year Rhonda and Ryan were free to do whatever they wanted. Because they deliberately sidelined Mr Wemhoff, they alone were responsible for “trying to get work done.” Having failed, they now scapegoat Mr Wemhoff for THEIR poor work performance.
Rhonda’s true hidden complaint is that Mr Wemhoff won’t help conceal the Rhonda-Ryan errors that are stealing tens of thousands of dollars from Owners’ pockets. Note the costly errors here, here, here and here.
False Claim 2: Mr Wemhoff “3 board members have resigned . . . due to his behavior.”
In this false statement Rhonda is referring to early director Kenny Comollo, to Ryan and to herself.
1. Mr Comollo. Mr Wemhoff admires Kenny’s keen insights. In this recent communication they share mutual disgust over a grievous Rhonda-Ryan error. Kenny ends with “Keep fighting the good fight, sir” – an expression of mutual respect and appreciation.
2. Ryan. Ryan quit over HIS “inappropriate conduct” toward Mr Wemhoff, for which he apologized. In his resignation letter he states: “My actions were unacceptable . . . falling short of the standards expected of a board member.” In the past Ryan had urged others to insult Mr Wemhoff as well – the others included the FirstService staff. In his letter he apologizes “to all individuals [he] may have influenced to act similarly.”
It should be noted that, when Ryan was perpetrating his “unacceptable behavior” – fully witnessed by Rhonda – she never once corrected him, asked him to cease, called Ryan “toxic” or started a petition drive against him. Instead, she encouraged him.
3. Rhonda. Rhonda now claims that she resigned because of Mr Wemhoff.
However, in her resignation letter she says the opposite. In that letter Rhonda states: “I have decided to resign from the board for personal reasons. This decision was not a result of . . . harassment . . . from Philip Wemhoff.”
So, either the resignation letter was a lie, or the petition letter is a lie. For some people Truth is not a value, especially if it gets in the way of an agenda.
One must understand Rhonda distorted thinking. Florida Statutes requires Director Wemhoff to fulfill his fiduciary obligations to Owners. To do so he must, by law, inform Rhonda that some of her key decisions would be wasteful, damaging to the Association or otherwise unwise.
Nevertheless, she considers such differing views “harassment,” even though they do not prevent Rhonda from implementing her slightest wish.
In summary, every element of the recall petition is a fraud. Alarming words like “board members . . . resigned,” “toxic” and “harassment” are meant to feign a moral tone and to sway those who lack a Sense of Justice.
But, those Owners with a moral sense will ask: Where is the proof?
If things didn’t get done, Rhonda and Ryan were to blame – they were president for the past year. If there was “harassment,” Ryan has already admitted to it, with Rhonda encouraging his misbehavior. If Board members resigned, they had personal reasons for doing so, as seen in their resignation letters.