Dear Mr. Beckman,

I am disappointed but not at all surprised by your recent  “Open Letter to Cottage Square" that was sent to San Lorenzo homeowners.

Mr. Beckman, a week or so after the work session where Brenda Carr chose not to recuse herself, nor admit she was related to the homeowner in the executive session, I, at the urging of former association board member Kathie Ready, called you and told you that I and two others were inadvertent witnesses to what had transpired.

I told you exactly what I heard, which was “What is the relationship?” or “Are you related?” This was asked several times and repeated to both the homeowner and the director with the same last name who remained silent and refused to answer. I heard a voice say “Brenda is my sister-in-law."

I also told you that at that point I stepped as far away as I could without exiting the building as I knew I had just witnessed a serious ethical violation.

I called you because I knew you were a homeowner and a local attorney and I wanted some guidance in how to proceed. All you would say was to write it down, send it to the HOA administrator and send you a copy. You then proceeded to tell me that “I speak to Mel Medeiros and Brenda Carr quite often” and further went on to tell me your thoughts about the rest of the board members. It was after that that I decided not to take your suggestion.

In your open letter you claim that you spend time fighting for openness and accountability. Since you have chosen to come out and support the perpetrator of the ethics violation, why haven’t you told Brenda Carr to be transparent, open, accountable and show some leadership as she repeatedly states on the record?

Ms. Carr has yet to answer the reasons for this recall. 

You claim Brenda Carr is “an outsider." Mr. Beckman, you know very well Ms. Carr is nothing of the kind. She is in fact an insider, yes an insider. She owns a home and is a successful business woman.

The recall is about Ms. Carr’s failure of ethical leadership.

Mr. Beckman if anyone is an outsider it is I. As you well know, I do not own a home but at some point in the future stand to inherit just as you have. Yet I still attend every meeting and work session and I ask questions and express my opinions and no one has yet to mistreat me as you’ve described in your letter. 

I am a regular citizen that happens to love San Lorenzo and care for its future and the 26,000 good people who live here . So it is somewhat intimidating to hear about an attorney asking questions about me while I’m doing my civic duty.

The truth remains unchanged, Mr. Beckman, the truth, failure of ethical leadership and accountability, is what this recall is about.

I am speaking truth to power, Mr. Beckman. As I told Brenda Carr at the monthly meeting following the ethics violation, “You can claim to be about rules, laws and policies, but in this society if all these things you claim are not based on a foundation of ethics, you have nothing, no credibility, nothing.”

Brenda Carr did not respond then and she has yet to respond for the reasons of the recall. Brenda Carr has yet to show any transparency, openness, accountability and ethical leadership as she is on record espousing.

I believe Brenda Carr does not deserve to be on the board of the HOA and San Lorenzo does not deserve Brenda Carr in this board position.