Censorship

Has any homeowner been censored at a Board Meeting during Homeowners Forum?

I certainly was at the October 2022 Board Meeting.  I had only spoken six words before the current Board President and Community Property Manager from Optimum told me to stop. I was then told that if I spoke on the topic of a recall, I would be asked to leave the meeting. They made assumptions about what I wanted to comment on which was false. My comments began with “Board Members Patel and Brothers at the” That was it. They were clueless about what I was about to say. There was no personal attack made about anyone, even though I have been verbally attacked by the Board President and an attorney for the Association in Homeowners Forum previously.  I said 7 words and was stopped by the Sevilla Board President and Optimum’s Property Manager for Sevilla. I told the property manager that she was violating my free speech rights in the open forum part of the Board Meeting. The property manager kept insisting that I couldn’t talk about the Recall which wasn’t on my mind. Why would she and the current Board President stop my ability to speak when they both had no clue as to the topic(s) that I was going to discuss. The property manager continued to argue with me and indicated that I didn’t have free speech rights.

This bullying behavior was unacceptable. When I requested IDR to speak with a board director about this issue, I was told by the HOA’s attorney that I would be meeting with one board director prior to the Board Meeting in January 2023. Instead I showed up expecting to meet with one director but was told I was meeting with the entire board including the current Board President who had censored me. That is not how IDR works. The current Board President should have recused herself since she was involved in the incident. I indicated that this was unacceptable, but to no avail. I then walked out. Just another example of poor leadership, bullying behavior, and a lack of knowledge regarding HOA Homeowner Rights.