[Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi Lehman, Blanco County News]

[Rich Steinburg]

take the money mr. tesar. you're earning it.


--- On Thu, 2/12/09, Dale Rodman <darodman at zeecon.com> wrote:

> From: Dale Rodman <darodman at zeecon.com>
> Subject: Re: [Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi Lehman, Blanco County News]
> To: "'Tesar, Charles'" <charles.tesar at peci.com>, "'Milton Hawkins'" <mhawkins at tstar.net>, watchdogs at pec4u.org
> Cc: "'Patrick Cox'" <patrickcox7 at gmail.com>
> Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009, 11:37 PM
> Last year I met you at a couple of PEC meetings.  Based on
> that and your
> platform I voted for you for the advisory position.   
> 
> Issues like the PEC history and hidden organizations are
> like icebergs.
> Only 10% of the problem is visible and there is usually 90%
> unseen problems
> below the surface, which sooner or later come to surface. 
> Many people were
> well aware of these potential problems and the time
> required to work on
> them.
> 
> Our present elected officials, across the board in all
> locations, federal,
> state and local, continue to fail to live up to their
> campaign promises.
> Once elected they quickly forget what they promised.  I
> remember you stating
> you would not take compensation.  Last years campaign had
> many candidates,
> many of which were running for the money and the perks. 
> The platforms were
> one of the few tools available to help identify these
> candidates.  The large
> number of candidates made it difficult for voters to
> identify the good
> candidates.  Who can we trust to do what they promise to
> do?  Compensation
> was a huge issue last election.  If you were going to take
> it you should
> have told the voters that was your intent.
> 
> I am sorry to hear about your economic situation and I
> thank you for the
> time spent but none of this changes the basic issues that
> voters trusted you
> to do.  One was not to take compensation to do the job.  By
> taking the
> compensation and now trying to justify it, further destroys
> any trust you
> might have left.    
> 
> The next few years will continue to require a large number
> of hours of work
> from our board members.  
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tesar, Charles [mailto:charles.tesar at peci.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 10:35 AM
> To: Dale Rodman; 'Milton Hawkins';
> watchdogs at pec4u.org
> Cc: 'Patrick Cox'
> Subject: RE: [Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi
> Lehman,Blanco
> County News]
> 
> Mr. Rodman,
> 
> Your point is correct; that, along with a host of other
> measures, was a
> campaign platform. 
> 
> The promise was based on the expectation that I would
> devote some 20-25
> hours a month on PEC business, and that such an effort
> should be part of my
> community service. But I had no idea of how profound the
> problems, nor the
> amount of work that would be required to move PEC towards a
> more reformed
> and responsive organization. Since being elected in June, I
> have spent the
> better part of 120-150 hours a month dealing with issues of
> transparency,
> accountability, management problems, legislative issues and
> restoring
> integrity to board behavior. In December alone, I clocked
> more than 250
> hours with PEC issues.
> 
> Although I lacked voting rights as an advisory member, I
> was in support of a
> major reduction in Board pay, sponsored provisions for
> renewables and
> conservation, and was outspoken in the the need to
> eliminate the 10 advisory
> positions (including my own)--all of which has come to
> reality. I have been
> especially aggressive in holding incumbent Board members to
> account for
> failures of fiduciary obligations and conflicts of
> interest.
> 
> But the question you raise is about accepting pay for PEC
> work. I am
> actively employed as an international consultant, but have
> received no
> income save for the $1500 per month and $750 per PEC
> meeting since my
> election. In order to carry out my obligations to PEC, I
> have had to forgo a
> number of work assignments, at no small loss of income. It
> is only in the
> last month that I've been able to return to my work
> abroad, although I will
> continue my involvement with restoring integrity and better
> management
> practices to PEC until my advisory position expires in
> June. 
> 
> I do plan to seek election for the District 6 Board
> position.  My platform
> is simple:  represent the member owners on a reformed board
> that insists on
> accountability, ethical behavior, efficient and effective
> management, and a
> mix of energy options that advance renewables and
> conservation, but at the
> lowest possible cost to members.  
> 
> If this explanation fails to address your concerns, Mr.
> Rodman, I'm certain
> that there will be other candidates you would prefer to
> support.
> 
> Respectfully,
> 
> Charles Tesar
> ________________________________________
> From: Dale Rodman [darodman at zeecon.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 9:04 PM
> To: 'Milton Hawkins'; watchdogs at pec4u.org
> Cc: 'Patrick Cox'; Tesar, Charles
> Subject: RE: [Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi
> Lehman,Blanco
> County News]
> 
> Last year Charles Tesar ran on a platform that he would
> take no compensation
> from the PEC.  Has he lived up to his campaign promise?
> 
> ________________________________
> From: watchdogs-bounces at pec4u.org
> [mailto:watchdogs-bounces at pec4u.org] On
> Behalf Of Milton Hawkins
> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 4:10 PM
> To: watchdogs at pec4u.org
> Cc: 'Patrick Cox'; Charles Tesar
> Subject: [Watchdogs] PEC election season opens [Jodi
> Lehman,Blanco County
> News]
> 
> [Patrick Cox and Charles Tesar have proven themselves to be
> effective
> advocates for reform and deserve to be returned to the
> Board.  And remember,
> as Ms. Lehman makes clear below, that each PEC member can
> vote for a
> candidate for each of the three open seats.  -  Milton]
> 
> PEC election season
> opens<http://www.blancocountynews.com/news/article/11855>
> By Jodi Lehman
> February 11,
> 2009<http://www.blancocountynews.com/news/issue/2009-02-11>
> 
> Three of the seven seats on the Pedernales Electric
> Cooperative Board of
> Directors are up for election this spring. On Monday,
> incumbent Director
> Patrick Cox of Wimberley announced he will seek re-election
> to the District
> 7 seat.
> 
> Since being elected last year to fill the unexpired
> District 7 term of
> former board president Bud Burnett encompassing the Kyle
> and Buda area, Cox
> has been a leader in seeking reforms at PEC. Cox said he is
> "seeking
> reelection to further the achievements of the past
> year" and will "continue
> efforts to eliminate unnecessary expense and wasteful
> practices while
> providing accountability and transparency."
> 
> Besides District 7, positions up for election in 2009 are
> for District 1,
> encompassing the cities of Marble Falls, Burnet and
> Bertram, and District 6,
> which includes part of the City of Blanco and a large area
> extending
> southeast from Blanco. District 1 incumbent Vi Cloud of
> Marble Falls and
> District 6 incumbent Val Smith of Blanco did not return
> calls asking about
> their plans to seek re-election. Smith has served on the
> PEC board since
> 1983 and Cloud has served as a director since 1994.
> 
> The PEC Board of Directors amended the cooperative's
> bylaws last month to
> eliminate all advisory director positions as of June 2009.
> Dr. Charles Tesar
> of Blanco was elected as advisory director from District 6
> last year and
> championed the elimination of advisory director positions,
> including his
> own, since he viewed the non-voting positions as "at
> best ceremonial."
> 
> In response to this reporter's inquiry on Monday, Tesar
> said he will run for
> the District 6 director position. "If elected to the
> voting post, I will
> continue my aggressive posture in ferreting out
> wrong-doing, fostering
> improvements in PEC performance, and supporting innovations
> in energy
> procurement and conservation."
> 
> Candidates must reside in the district they are running in,
> but voting will
> be at-large again for this election cycle. Each PEC member
> will be able to
> cast one vote in each of the races, regardless of the
> number of meters owned
> by the member. In past years, a member could cast a vote
> for each meter in
> co-op elections.
> 
> PEC has made nomination-by-petition materials available on
> its web site,
> www.pec.coop, for members interested in running for a
> position on the
> utility's board of directors. Members may also call PEC
> toll-free at
> 1-888-554-4732 to have the petition materials mailed to
> them, or they can
> drop by any Pedernales Electric office to request the forms
> in person.
> 
> The materials include instructions for submitting
> biographical information,
> nomination requirements, a background verification
> authorization form,
> sheets for collecting member signatures and a map showing
> the recently
> revised director districts.
> 
> PEC Communications Manager Anne Harvey explained that the
> district
> boundaries do not always coincide with city or county
> boundaries, and often
> follow physical and geographic landmarks such as major
> roads and rivers.
> Part of the City of Blanco is in District 5 and part is in
> District 6.
> Harvey said members who wish to run for a director position
> and are
> uncertain of their district should call PEC for more
> information.
> 
> Completed nomination petitions must be postmarked or
> received by PEC by
> April 6 for candidates to be eligible for the election,
> which will conclude
> at the cooperative's June 20 annual membership meeting.
> Incumbent directors
> seeking re-election are required to complete the petition
> process.
> 
> "Last year's election demonstrated our desire to
> have open and democratic
> elections, and the participation from the membership was
> wonderful," said
> PEC General Manager Juan Garza. "Our commitment to
> democracy remains true
> for 2009, and we believe our nomination procedure for
> directors is one of
> the most open processes in the country."
> 
> PEC plans to mail ballots to PEC members in May. As in
> 2008, PEC has hired
> Election Services Corporation, an independent election
> services provider, to
> distribute, receive and tabulate ballots and handle other
> election matters.
> PEC members will be able to vote for the candidates of
> their choosing by
> mail, online or in person at the annual meeting.
> Copyright 2009 Blanco County News
> E-mail:
> news at blanconews.com<mailto:news at blanconews.com>news at
> blanconews
> dot com . Phone: (830) 833-4812 . Fax: (830) 833-4246
> 
> Milton Hawkins    830-868-9075
> 
> 
> 
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