Pot and Kettle  for full discussion

6/6/2024 

Pot Calls the Kettle Black?
commentary by Joe Reynolds, OceanPinesForum.com

The Cambridge Dictionary says this about Hypocrisy:

"A situation in which someone pretends to believe something that they do not really believe, or that is the opposite of what they do or say at another time. For example, 'there's one rule for her and another rule for everyone else and it's sheer hypocrisy.'"

The June 2024 edition of the Ocean Pines Progress provides what might be viewed as a perfect example of hypocrisy.

An article by Tom Stauss attempts to cover accusations that OPA Director Steve Jacobs was the source of a leak about a letter six board members wanted to have OPA's attorney send to three women accusing them of "wrongfully and actionably defaming my clients in their official capacities as members of the Board of Directors of Ocean Pines" via posts on Facebook. The three women were Sherrie Clifford, Josette Wheatley, and Amy Peck. Clifford and Peck are currently candidates for election to the OPA Board of Directors.

Sources say Jacobs refused to go along with the other six, thus not allowing the board to take a rather secret action outside a board meeting without a legally required unanimous vote. 

Unable to take action in secret and outraged by the public revelation of the board majority's intent to accuse the three women of defamation, the Board of Directors then called a special meeting and went into a closed session to discuss "legal" matters with their attorney. Instead of voting to send the letter to the three women, the board decided to issue a broad public statement that only specifically referenced Clifford's "Ocean Pines ROC" Facebook page.

Jacobs refused to sign the statement, just as he refused to sign off on accusing the three women individually of defamation. It was signed by Rick Farr, Stuart Lakernick, John Latham, Monica Rakowski, Elaine Brady, and Jeff Heavner. Jacobs did the right thing - in both instances.

Not said in the public statement was that the closed meeting, based on reliable sources, did not focus on sending the letter accusing the three women, but rather a lengthy period with six board members accusing Jacobs of being the source of the leak.

Here comes the hypocrisy.

Author Tom Stauss wrote in the above-referenced June 2024 edition of the Progress: "Evidence that proves conclusively that Jacobs leaked the draft to Reynolds of Ocean Pines Forum was presented in a closed executive session of the Board on May 9, according to OPA President Rick Farr, who also said that Jacobs vehemently and categorically denied he was the source of the leak during the meeting."

It gets better.

Stauss wrote: "OPA President Rick Farr told the Progress that evidence that Jacobs was the source of the leak to Reynolds was verified by the IP addresses of emails that were linked to Jacobs." Pure speculation.

Stauss wrote of the closed meeting: "Before agreeing on the draft statement, six of the seven directors agreed not to send a cease and desist letter to the Residents Oversight Community Facebook page regarding the posting of alleged defamatory materials." This is incorrect if referencing the letter originally written to go to the three women. The letter was to be sent to each of the women individually in addition to the ROC Facebook page.

Was Steve Jacobs the source of a leak about the proposed letter to accuse Clifford, Peck, and Wheatley? No factual proof was provided to Stauss by Farr to support Farr's public accusation against a fellow board member.

Was it hypocritical for Rick Farr to leak information to Tom Stauss about what transpired during a closed meeting while publicly accusing fellow board member Steve Jacobs of leaking? 

The board statement, signed by all board members except Jacobs states: "We also wish to express our collective dismay and disappointment in regard to disclosures of confidential OPA information leaking improperly from this Board to members of the media and others, in an apparent attempt to disrupt and undermine the legitimate deliberative processes of this corporate Board."

What we seem to have here is a classic example of "the pot calling the kettle black."

If Rick Farr has the authority to tell Tom Stauss or other media reporters anything that goes on in closed-session board meetings, why doesn't every board member have that same right?

Previous commentary about all this Facebook nonsense included the following: "This Board of Directors, with Rick Farr as president, currently presides over one of the most prosperous and successful periods in the history of Ocean Pines. Why get involved in these petty Facebook squabbles?"

Sources say Farr used only the first sentence, without attribution, in his re-election campaign announcement on Facebook.

Let's again consider the full factual statement and question:

Repeating - This Board of Directors, with Rick Farr as president, currently presides over one of the most prosperous and successful periods in the history of Ocean Pines. Why get involved in these petty Facebook squabbles?

Indeed. Why? Why? Why?

Jacobs may be a one-person minority on the board, but perhaps the other six should give his opinions more consideration before going down nightmare public relations rabbit holes over Facebook posts.

Finally, Tom Stauss reports in the Progress that Clifford and Peck said they decided to run for the Board of Directors "to give association members a choice," not because they learned of the six-person board majority's intent to have OPA's attorney send them letters accusing them of defaming the Board of Directors.

While researching reactions to the Board majority's subsequently canceled intent to send cease-and-desist letters to the three women, Amy Peck told OceanPinesForum.com the exact opposite - that she and Clifford only finally decided to run after hearing about the letter accusing them of defamation.