Yanqui Mike being forced to resign...

It's true ...and it's enough to make me physically ill.

If you're a member of Democrats Abroad Argentina, you received a couple of emails from DAA last night explaining the unanimous call for my resignation as Chair. The following is every single email that I have received so far.

Some are a little tough on me to explain what has happened. I will explain to the best of my ability ...and I'll do it in writing.

The main thing, for you as members, is to insist on being allowed to "help make the collective decision on the future leadership of this organization" by email or ANY other form of remote communication.

Otherwise, this becomes just another secret meeting in someone's living room.

I promise to publish every single email that I receive on this subject... unedited except for your identity. I'm sure that I will (now) receive some emails from supporters of the mostly unelected Executive Committee ...one of whom no longer lives in Argentina.

Every email sent to me will be appended to this post. I won't leave ANY post out, positive or negative.

The main thing is: demand that you be told in writing ...and demand that you have a voice ...in the Dec 3 meeting to which we were all so kindly invited ...and that you be able to exercise your right to "make the collective decision" in the living room of an Executive Committee member for whom you never voted.

...otherwise, Democrats Abroad Argentina becomes a private club that can demand that anyone "step down privately."

--------------------------------------------
So what's going on with this nuttiness, man?

I hope all's well (or as well as can be).

Abrazo,
23:51

Holy shit! What happened?

I tried to call you just now to see if you wanted to get together for a beer tonight somewhere to here the story.
Call me ASAP ###-###-####. I had a gut feeling about Tihany and Meghan struck me as a power climber...

I just returned to BA and was planning to look you up anyways. I was at Morgan Freeman's production offices on election night... he opened them as a call center and headquarters. The place went nuts when Ohio went for Obama becuase we knew McCain couldn't recover.

Call me
22:23

Where is the beef?
This accusation that some of you are making against Mike is kind of hard to take.

I don’t know Mike in person and neither have I known anyone else.

I could no get into the last meeting because it says "You can not participate", then I did not see much motivation to go there.

I went to just one of the getting together, but been a Senior person I left early.

I did however have the impression that this was kind of "Secret Club" or an "Exclusive Club"!

Something normal at the "Republican Party", but not with the Democrats!

So I wonder myself: "Will I be comfortable there"?
I never knew of the names of the Board of the DAA.
They were elected?
When?
By whom?
I received 2 different list of the Board such:
Mike Board List:
Meghan Doran, unelected Vice-Chair
Maria Ramirez, unelected Secretary
Richard Tihany, Treasurer
Laura Atkins, unelected Counsel

The other Board List I received from The Executive Committee, Democrats Abroad Argentina:
Meghan Doran, National Vice-Chair
Richard Tihany, National Treasurer
Maria Emilia Ramirez, National Secretary
Laura Atkins, National Counsel

On Mike list 3 of the 4 were “Unelected”!
On the other they were designed as: “National….”!
What’s it?
I have no idea for instance how many voters were registered here in Argentina?
You always wanted to get together at a bar, which I don’t care about it.
It is also true that Mike was the main source of communication with me.
He never asked me to send donations to "him" or to "his wife"!
So, if Mike was deviating some money, was anyone else controlling the donations made?

Was Richard Tihany responsibility to do that?

Are all those mentioned names here in Buenos Aires?

Again these are kind of hard charges against Mike, but I did not see many proof on that!
Basically I’m asking: Where is the beef?
I’m replying to all of you guys at the same time.
Thank you!
22:15

Mike,

Okay buddy, tell me what do I need to do? Do I respond to their e-mail requesting that they allow a vote via e-mail? Who overseas the vote count? Who recieves it? Is there anyone at Democrats Abroad that I could write to directly? Basically my complaint would be that as a member I have no idea why they would be asking for your resignation.

They mentioned unethical acts, yet they only mention one and I don't think it was possible since your wife is Argentine and she could not have donated to Obama.

Anyway, sorry to be not so focused. This is my immediate response to these two e-mails and it's past my bed time. Instead of firing something off right away I will wait until tomorrow.

Obviously you have my support. It would help me though to know your response to their claim that you took DA money and donated to Obama under Alicia's name.

Saludos,
22:10

I am bewildered..what about the charge that you were bundling donations and giving them to Obama? What is the story?

In Political Exile in Argentina
22:02

Mike, is this a joke?? Did they actually ask you to resign? That's just crazy talk! Of course you have my support and confidence 100% I would definitely like to vote, but can't do so in person. I would like to do it either by email or phone, whichever way I can. Did they give any reason to why the "loss of confidence"? I'm sorry, but I think that's just a bunch of B.S. I have seen just how hard you've worked through this whole ordeal and I can't imagine anyone else that could handle it like you have. Are we able to ask for the resignation of those 4 on the account that they're idiots?? If you need anything else, just let me know. Let's see what I can do on this side of the country. Man, now they've just made this Wisconsinite steaming mad.
21:59

You have my support and confidence!
American citizen
21:47

Mike,

Here is a better draft of my letter attached.
21:33

Some preliminary thoughts are attached.
21:29

Mike,

Clearly I don´t know any of the details, but what I do know is that at every event I ever attended I immediately saw and felt your presence. You introduced yourself to me and remembered my name from the first time I told it to you. Since not a single of the other members ever took it upon themselves to meet me, clearly YOU have not only my confidence but my utmost respect for your dealings with the members of the organization and the organization itself.

Yours in democracy,
21:14

I'm behind you.
Won't be able to attent but plese let me know how to go about requesting to be allowed to vote by email.
Good luck,
21:05

Dear Mike,

What are their complaints? How many members are there total?

What do I know, all I know is that I probably would not have voted from here had you not harrassed me so much...haha.

Well, whatever happens, thanks for all your hard work.
21:01

What??? Why???
20:54

Mike,

This comes as quite a surprise. I wholly support your proposition that
people be able to vote by email, as I will be traveling in Patagonia
at the time of the meeting (though I will still be in Argentina so I
feel it is unfair not to have a voice in this affair).

That said, I am underwhelmed by both the email announcing the
confidence vote as well as your email. As I see it there is only one
specific accusation given thus far, that you had made donations in
your wife's name rather than specifically by donor. I would have
expected you to specifically address this concern and if it occurred,
why. I would have also expected you to anticipate any others that are
going to be brought up in the meeting. Without that I cannot vote
knowledgeably. That said, my hyperbole meter goes off when I see that
the first email mentioned your strange behavior via email and forums,
when I had at that point received no such correspondence.

I encourage you to promptly follow up with more specifics.

20:50

NO!!! You have my support MIke you did an outstanding job! they didnt mention the reason though.
20:49

Seems to me the matter is important enough to tell it like it is thru email: learn more about email and also voting thru email.

If the emails are good enough to be presented by you as evidence, then it follows they should be good enough to vent the whole situation thru email

Figured I am not the only one living away from the Capital, do need to get as many members as possible to participate, we do not want to emulate the republican tactics and leave half of the members out: do we?

So, make your case thru email so I am privy to the same info you have end let me decide thru email.

I do not need to remind you we've won a campaign thru the use of the internet.

I will not be able to be present and: as a campaign contributor and memeber of DAA I demand this.
20:41

This is crazy. As far as I am concerned. A coup of Democrats Abroad?
20:18

Dear Mike,

I was taken aback to get the previous email from the group of four. The whole thing seems to me to be highly irregular, but I don't know any of the facts. What I do know is that your enthusiasm and drive was really appreciated in the run-up to the election. I don't recall ever hearing from any of the others. What's this charge about altering a donation to appear in your wife's name? Is that the most serious accusation? I am sorry that following the successful election we have to go through this. I agree that a vote by mail would be the best procedure, since many of us cannot make the meetings. They should send a precise list of all the complaints. Otherwise, the possibility is hard to escape that there are some personal gripes being aired.
20:09

Mike, as a new and pretty inactive member of DAA, I've been very impressed by your energy and direction. In case we are allowed to vote by e-mail, can you address some of the issues mentioned as reasons for the vote of no confidence? Specifically, the allegations of what I assume was an unapproved use of DAA funds to make an individual donation to the Obama campaign? Thanks, and best of luck.
20:09

Hi Mike,
Unusual email from yahoo.com
I do not know you personnally but have recieved your emails and never seemed bizarre, erratic or confusing, so I gather there is something else going on.
What's your side of the story?
20:08

--------Friday emails appended here----------------

So, Mike, how about a direct answer:

Are the allegations true that you took money donated to the organization and then donated it to the Obama campaign in your wife's name? If so, why?

I appreciate all you have done. I'd like to know why you think you should stay in light of the allegations (and they say there is more).

Puzzled and concerned,
00:04

Of course you have my support. I know what you are going through, they did the same to Malcolm X. They don't want someone who works with their heart, that is too dangerous for them. I will vote for you. If they kick you out after all the work you did, I will no longer support their organization.
00:11

hi,
oh, my, how terible
what happened??
you are so into it, it is hard to believe...
best,
04:28

Dear Mike,

So why are they asking you to resign? What are the accusations?
05:41

Hi Mike,

We got the letter from the committee and were not quite sure what to make of it though it seems like ALL of you did a great job in making the election experience very, very positive this year. I was sorry to hear that behind closed doors that not all was hunky dory but when is it, especially in politics and especially with the kind of people politics attracts?

YOU are the face of Democrats abroad--I don't care what position you hold, you are the one who has been promoting it for the last few years and you are the one that gave it a voice and a face.

I think the request to be able to express our confidence by email is a good one as we are a pretty movable bunch. I will send them an email.

Sorry you have to go through this, hopefully you developed a Chicagoan thick skin.

Best,
08:59

Man, thanks like people like you...Mike I had on hands,
all the correct info to vote for this last pres.election.
You where there not some else.
I support you...no doubt and dosen´t matter if I have to go to vote there.
Sincerely
09:01

hey mike,

not sure what's going on with this. and, also extremely weird to think i might have "voting rights". what did i do -- drink beer with some style?

;-)

i just want you to know that both * and i consider you and alicia friends. we also feel the same way for laura and most everyone else that we've met. so hopefully, everything will be civil. personally, i appreciate everything that's been done by dems abroad here. it's been truly amazing actually.

if it helps, i'll attend and hear this thing out. but, my inclination is to abstain from voting (if i'm truly allowed this opportunity) partially cuz i feel that we all could take a page from obama's magnanimous approach to things. plus it would really suck to burn bridges with some people that have so much to offer.

we're all winners now, right?
09:46

Can you explain the allegations and your side of the story in the case that I/we can't make it to the meeting and (possibly) we are able to vote via email?
Thanks,
10:34

Hey Mike,

I'm with you brother, anything I can do to be of support or help you out, please let me know and I'll do it!

Thanks
10:43

Mike, sounds like in-fighting. W"hat are reasons for "lack of confidence"?
Things like this have to be aired in public and reasons given; under no
means should they remain secret.
10:56

you have my support!!!
13:49

Hey Mike,

We're all confused. Could you respond to the allegation that you took donations made explicitly to fund Democrats Abroad Argentina and converted them into a personal contribution to the Obama campaign in your wife's name?

Best,
14:04

Hello Mike:

I hope you honor your word to post all requests. I support the rest of the executive committee in asking for your resignation because I do not think you are an ethical or responsible leader for the organization. You treat it as your fiefdom and I believe your priorities are misguided.

My personal example which highlights this behavior of yours is when you undermined our efforts to clearly communicate the easiest and cheapest way for voters living here in Argentina to cast their vote. I wrote a very specific email message that included and highlighted the event hosted by the US Embassy, listing the date and time. When my message was published in your Sunday email you neglected to include the details of the date/time and importance of the US Embassy event. When I (immediately!) called you on this you stated “I would prefer to draw members to our events so we can capture their funds”. Huh?? All of our long volunteer efforts and focus was to make sure expats living here were registered and then most importantly VOTED! I felt that you actually acted as a determinate to this goal by withholding this information.

You also refused to send an email out to members announcing a fundraiser a group of us hosted in a private home. You made it clear to us that if none of the funds we were raising were ear marked for DAA you would not participate or even support the event. Double Huh? Aren’t we all working to get Obama elected?

The specific example that the executive committee listed yesterday in their email not only demonstrates your fiefdom mentality but also crosses several legal lines. Hence why that act seems to be the final straw that broke the back of your fellow executive committee members. They are tired of your erratic and very questionable behavior which in turn compromises the integrity of the entire organization. I echo their sentiments and support their efforts.

Furthermore I think you consistently lack serious professional decorum by presenting a public face that often crosses the line of inebriation. Downing more than three beers in a student administrative space at a mid-day function on the campus of a University exchange program is one specific example of this behavior.

I think the responsibilities of any Democrats Abroad organization in non-election years is simple enough: the chair needs to be a community organizer who hosts a variety of periodic events to maintain members engaged and active along with always having an eye on recruiting more members. This requires someone who has a bigger breadth of staging events than just hosting drinking events in dark bars. This appeals to only one cross section of expats. So if you do successfully manage to stay on as chair I hope you will consider a wider appeal to members of all demographics.

Please feel free to publish my name. I am not hiding anything.

Sincerely,
14:32

Hi Mike, do not worry, I will be there supporting you. I did not received anything more than this, your mail. They are crazy. You did a great job. Maybe they do not like people from here around them. But I am a USA citizen even I do not speak very well English. And I have my rights. I do not know "the interns" there but I believe in you. Love,
14:52

Mike, what is the reason o reasons? can you be honest and tell us?
15:11

Well that is definitely a shame. And to say that they do not have confidence in you. What examples do they have? Please...they remind of those people in the other party, you know the far rights.
Keep doing what you are doing and don´t give in. I know I haven´t participated much, other than enjoy reading your sunday emails.

All my best,
18:46

Okay, Mike, I know we’ve never met, but I respect what you’ve done and feel you deserve a fair shake. Below is the request that I sent the coup organizers. And I offer a few suggestions which of course you can toss out if they don’t resonate with you.

Fairness is always a big issue with me. So is honesty, and I hope you can explain those charges in their entirety to the satisfaction of all. You don’t need to fend off bricks with your bare arms when you have truth, courage, and the serenity of a clean conscience going for you.

Of course your best defense is innocence and your best strategy is authenticity. Be proud of what you have accomplished without intimating that it should allow you any privilege other than the right to respond to accusations. (Okay, and a few good soundbites might help. If you were black, we’d call it a lynching. Here, maybe “coup” works. What do I know, I’m just a social psychologist who specialized in research on attitude change and social influence.)

Now, Mike, if you have made a mistake, admit it, ask for forgiveness, and promise to do better in the future. If you broke an ethical norm, resign with an apology and wish the group well. If you are convicted though innocent, leave with your head held high. If you are exonerated, ask those who accused you to resign and then move on nobly with our bigger cause to save the world. Just don’t let them drag you into a dirty fight unless you like to fight dirty. And somehow you just never struck me as that kind of guy.

God, I hate in-party fighting, but I never like to let the bad guys win without standing up for my beliefs.

Good luck, Mike!
18:50

Mike I don't understand that you did anything different than Barak Obama did when he renigged on his promise not to accept private financing

I mean if it is okey for Obama to take private financing (the type of financing that you have been judged to have sent him surreptisously with or without your wife's knowledge) when he promised to keep his fiancing above board and transparant to others to see and account then why are you being persicuted? You should be held to the same standards that Obama has been held to by the media .......which is nothing

too bad you aren't black and a politician otherwise you could play the race card

sucks to be you
21:14

Good luck, Mike. I've never met anyone quite like you.

Now let's just hope that the Obama spirit pervades the deliberations.

Btw, I have just started a virtual Unitarian Universalist Argentina group.
You provided a great role model for a virtual group here--thanks! (And if
you want to send any liberally religious folks my way, that would be
wonderful!)

Abrazos,
22:39

----Saturday's emails appended here----
For the record I have received no emails from anyone, and I have no time to go to websites and read melodramatic happenings. My own life has enough drama.

What I do know is that volunteer organizations are often fraught with this type of infighting. Power struggles, accusations of wrong doing, and demands for resignations along with public humiliations.

I have no idea if Mike did the things you are now publicly accusing him of, or if he did them how you say he did, or if he did them and you knew about it, and maybe even sanctioned, but now for some reason want to get rid of him and find this a great way to do it. What I do know is, airing this kind of thing in the way you did, creates a divisive attitude in the organization. You are forcing people to take sides (and hopefully yours or you would not have sent your emails) without all the information.

Now let's look at the accusation. You say that Mike took donated money, and donated to Obama in his wife's name. OK, for arguments sake let's say he did do this. It is a little sleazy. But if you would have said that Mike took donated money and bought his wife a plane ticket to Mendoza and a trip to a spa, that is pretty bad news. Worse than sleazy. I think you all know this.

So what will all this accomplish? Do you think people are going to jump up and get indignant? Exactly the opposite. People hate this sort of stuff. They don't want to get involved with it. Why? Because who likes to volunteer anyway? Almost no one. Everyone wants someone else to do the work.

As the board, why didn't you have better controls? What was your treasurer doing? Sorry but I have 24 years as a business analyst, and if you tell me the President of an organization misappropriated funds, then there is a problem with your procedures. Your treasurer should have done a better job of making sure donated money was used for just causes. If you tell me that any of you could pay bills and that your system was based on trust, then you have failed collectively as a board in instituting controls. The responsibility lies with all of you, not just one man. And if one person erred, then you ALL erred.

Please understand that although Mike is my friend, I have no problem sending him up the river if he is in the wrong. I have years of placing myself in a neutral position of seeing all sides before making a decision.

Could you not have thought of a better way to handle this situation? Why could you not have called a general meeting where things could have been discussed openly? I think in the end, with this type of communication and infighting the organization will definitely lose. It is too bad. At least you waited until the elections were over.
01:28

Hello Mike,

Let’s see if you will post my input on your website.

Many of you have are confused and shocked over the board’s recent vote of no confidence in Mike and the request for his resignation. You will be receiving information over the next few days which will clarify the board’s position. Meanwhile, as the (un-elected) counsel of Democrats Abroad Argentina, I would like to present my personal views of the situation.

I first began to notice problems between Mike and the rest of board in June. It began with an unbelievably vicious attack on one of the board members. I tried for several months to mediate between this board member and Mike. Mike just wasn’t interested. Soon another board member came under attack, and then another. I was the last to be attacked, but the minute I disagreed with Mike I got it too. He accused me of not supporting HIM. Never mind that he doesn’t support any of us.

The first major disagreement I had with Mike was over the distribution of the proceeds from the first debate party held on September 26. This was advertised as a Democrats Abroad Argentina event. We charged admission because our country committee was and still is desperately short of funds. Mike took the money collected at the door and donated it to the Obama campaign in his wife’s name. Mike did this unilaterally without giving the board a chance to vote. As counsel, he did ask me about this and I advised him against it because I thought it violated Federal Election Commission campaign finance rules. He did not heed my advice – so much for being counsel.

This is not the only thing Mike did unilaterally – since I’ve been on the board, Mike has always done exactly what he wants. This is a far cry from the democratic principles he pretends to believe in. He doesn’t care if the board agrees with his actions or not. If any board member disagrees with him he viciously attacks them. He told me once that he didn’t care if the board got along with him because Democrats Abroad Argentina was a success anyway. By many measures that was true, but the ONLY reason that the debate parties and other events were so successful is because the rest of the board pulled together to register voters, obtain merchandise to sell, and rally and train our wonderful volunteers to make these things happen. We all did this despite Mike’s repeated and very personal attacks. What is sad is that, though we held successful parties, we lost out on other opportunities because of the things that were not done, and could not be done with Mike at the helm. For example, we did nothing to support Democrats Abroad International. We did not seek to develop relationships with a core group of Democrats who live here who could have helped us financially and with advice.

As far as my being unelected, let me explain how this happened. I was asked to join the board as counsel in February of this year. I gladly took the position because I believe strongly in Democrats Abroad and its mission. We held a general meeting of the membership in March. I asked Mike to allow the members to vote me in at that meeting, which would have been in keeping with our bylaws. Mike would not do it. I was puzzled by this but I didn’t press the issue. Thus I remain unelected but not by choice.

I’m sure some of you think that we are trying to remove Mike and take over the organization. That is not true but I can only speak for myself here. Let me make it clear that I do not want to be Chair. I do not have the time to do justice to the job. I will continue to do what I can to support Democrats Abroad, but not as chair and likely not on the board. As for the future, if the membership wants to retain Mike, that’s fine. However, at least now the membership and the new board will know what to watch out for. The new board will have to take actions early on to ensure that Mike runs this organization properly, including adhering to democratic principles, honoring the bylaws and giving the board a vote.

Yours truly
11:15

Dear Democrats Abroad,

The only confusing e-mail I have ever recieved has been this one. Having a sort of public image myself, and having had worked as a moderator in a public forum, I take public accusations without any evidence as very serious lapses in judgment and character. You have called someone "unethical" and accused him of taking "innapropriate actions" without any evidence. In my eyes you know have some explaining to do.

I do not have the time to lecture, nor the desire, on how you should have gone about doing this. I guess your age and/or inexperience may have something to do with it.

I am one of the founding members of DAA and I have donated funds to the cause. This is important enough to me to warrant a feeling of anger and dissapointment. I want to know all the reasons for you calling on Mike´s resignation. I want to know how Mike will have a chance to explain any of the charges that you bring up against him and I want to know who is going to oversee any voting that needs to take place. Quite frankly, I don´t trust anyone on the board at this moment considering your actions on this matter so far.

Sincerely,
11:53

----no more appending... look for a new post soon----