GSMOL Election 2024
YOUR VOTE MATTERS!!!!
Please mail in your ballot on or before April 15, 2024:
GSMOL Elections Committee
c/o Roger Johnson
6649 Silver Springs Court
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
Every two years, all GSMOL members elect directors and vote on proposed bylaw amendments. Here is your ballot, the candidates’ statements, proposed bylaw amendments, and instructions on how to vote. Each member can only vote once.
This ballot has been sent out in electronic and paper versions. The ballot is sent electronically to every GSMOL member whose email address we have. This saves GSMOL about $9,000 in mailing costs. The ballot is being sent by U.S. mail to everyone whose email address is not on file with GSMOL.
All ballots must be returned postmarked by April 15, 2024. Once ballots are mailed, that becomes your vote. A second ballot will not be counted.
Please mail your ballot by April 15, 2024. Late ballots cannot be counted. We, the members, decide who leads GSMOL. Election for officers, directors of the board, and for Bylaw amendments are decided by majority vote.
In 2024, all members elect our Secretary and Treasurer. In 2024 members in Zone A, Northeast California, and Zone C, Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Counties, elect their Zone Vice President. Only ballots from members in those zones will be counted for those Directors.
We also have two proposed amendments to our Bylaws.
VOTING RESULTS:
Election results will be announced in the Californian and at the May 2024 Board meeting. Members are welcome to attend the GSMOL Zoom board meetings, usually on the third Wednesday of each month. The results will also be posted on the GSMOL website under the Election 2024 tab.
VOTING INSTRUCTIONS:
Please put a mark on the ballot in ink by your choice for the candidates and bylaw amendments. If you make a mistake and have not mailed in your ballot, you can print a new ballot or request a new ballot from the GSMOL Office, 800-888-1727.
- Print the ballot page. You may print just the ballot page or the whole document. The ballot is a JPG picture file. You may be able to right-click on it and then print it. Or you may right-click on the ballot, save it to your computer and then print it. If you don’t have a printer, you can call the GSMOL Office at 800-888-1727 for a paper ballot, or ask another GSMOL member to print the ballot for you. Members can vote only once.
- Mark your choices in ink. Do not make any other marks on or sign the ballot itself.
- Put your name, address, and member number (if known) on the outside of the return envelope.
- Each Ballot must be in its own sealed and identified envelope. Multiple ballot envelopes, for example from a Chapter, can be put into a larger envelope and mailed in.
- Mail your ballot back to:
GSMOL Elections Committee
c/o Roger Johnson
6649 Silver Springs Court
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
CANDIDATES’ STATEMENTS
SECRETARY:
CAROL BRINKMAN: Corporate minutes are your “window” into the workings and decisions of your GSMOL Board of Directors who work to protect your home and your rights as a resident of a mobilehome park. They are a historical record that is archived in the GSMOL office to provide a permanent transcript of what your Board does. I take that responsibility seriously and am committed to the integrity of the minutes so the window through which you view our performance is informative and accurate. I ask for your vote for a second term as GSMOL’s State Secretary.
TREASURER:
SHELLY PARKER: I wish to continue as the Treasurer because the financial future of GSMOL is vitally important. Continue to help GSMOL grow with the everchanging financial, social, and technological world we live in.
ZONE A VICE-PRESIDENT: Position now vacant. No candidate’s statement was submitted.
ZONE C VICE-PRESIDENT: (Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Counties)
MARY JO BARETICH: Continue to build trust and establish relationships with homeowners by establishing strong communication and support. Educate homeowners on their rights, and show how GSMOL can help achieve this goal. Keep members informed and up to date on GSMOL Legislative Advocacy activities. Listen to homeowners’ problems, and suggest solutions to those problems. Protecting the quality of life for the residents of our mobilehome communities.
PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS:
The Board of Directors recommends members adopt the following amendments to the bylaws. You may read and download a copy of the Bylaws from the GSMOL website at:
https://www.gsmol.org/resources/chapter-resources/
Amendment 1:
CHANGE Section 4.01(b) to read:
The President shall annually recommend all Standing Committee Chairpersons subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. The Chairperson of each Committee shall appoint and remove members of the Corporation as the other members of the Committee, except the Legislative Committee chair, who shall be bound by 4.01(i).
ADD Section 4.01(i): “LAT Committee Membership Requirements: The Chairperson of the Legislative Committee, in order to ensure representation from a broad swath of the corporation, must endeavor to include at least one (1) committee member from each Zone (as defined in Section 6.02), such that every GSMOL Zone is represented on the committee. In the absence of a viable, or agreeable committee member in a particular Zone, the current Zone Vice President for the deficient Zone, will serve on the committee, until such time as a replacement committee member from that Zone can be secured by the chairperson.”
Rationale: “This does not preclude multiple members from the same Zone, it just ensures that every Zone in GSMOL is represented on the LAT.”
AMENDMENT 2:
Section 5.02
(b) Chapter officers shall appoint a Membership Chairperson Coordinator, and a Legislative Contact who shall take instruction from the Legislative Action Team (LAT) Committee. These roles may be taken by any of the elected officers or by other members.
Rationale:
- Change “Chairperson” to “Coordinator”. “Chairperson” is an outdated term that assumes that the MC will establish a committee, and there is no requirement for that. “Coordinator” has been used for a number of years, which allows the MC to still have a committee or team if they want but does not make it seem that it’s required.
- Add the comma after the word Coordinator, to make it clear that only the LC, not the MC, is to take direction from the LAT Committee.
