LETTER: Accountable Co-op Board

To the editor,
I attended the annual Members Meeting of the Socorro Electric Co-operative on Saturday
April 17. I have also attended several Labor Union National Conventions.
After the President of the Co-op displayed his inability to conduct the meeting, he turned the gavel over to, I believe, the Co-op Lawyer. This change brought an overbearing attitude and blatant bullying from the Chair that would have made many Labor Leaders blush.
Then, as first one and then another of the trustee’s carefully crafted pillars of misdirection, deception, and obfuscation started to crumble, his attitude started to change and the acrimony from the podium abated. As their edifice of cronyism turned to rubble, he started making accurate decisions and made a cynical attempt at a kiss and make up. He praised us and thanked us for participating in “democracy in action.”
Without question, Americans of every stripe are recognizing that governing bodies should be accountable and receptive to their members or constituents. The days of playing on our dime are drawing to a close.
Citizens understand that phrases like “The Co-op will pay for it” or “It is just government money” really mean, WE are paying for it!!!
For too long, incumbents at every level of government have become secure and calloused in their perception of their warranting of perks.
Hopefully, this demonstration of determined activism in Socorro will continue and even snowball through November. We need to get rid of a lot of incumbents, and their protégés.
To my fellow intrepid Co-op members, our job is not finished. What we witnessed at that meeting was an emperor not willing to cede his empire!! They will not go quietly into the night. We will have to be ever vigilant until they accept our decisions!!
That’s my nickel.

Gene Brown

LETTER: Accountable Co-op Board