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Vote vastly changes board
By LOGAN D. MABE © St. Petersburg Times, published December 15, 2000 WESTCHASE -- For much of the past year, the Westchase Community Association board has dealt with controversial, sometimes divisive, issues that hit close to home for residents in the tightly run development. Children's tennis programs, after-school care and the stringent process for making the most minor changes to homes spurred debate both on the board and among residents frustrated by decisions that rarely pleased everyone. By Tuesday night, members of the Residents Advisory Committee held the fate of four incumbent board members in their hands as they voted to fill 11 seats. Only one, Gary Konopka, survived. Former board president Bob Argus, and members Ruben Collazzo and Rick O'Keefe lost their seats to newcomers. It was a virtual clean sweep that many residents said indicates Westchase is heading into a more harmonious new year. "I'm very pleased with the results of the election," said RAC member Harry Carter, a vocal opponent of Argus and of the former board's intransigence on homeowners' issues. "I trust that we've learned from our past, and this new board will unite our community." Chris Colden, who ran for a seat and lost, put it more succinctly: "We accomplished what we wanted. We got rid of the old board." Until now, Terrabrook, the developer of Westchase, controlled four of the seats and those became vacant when the company turned them over to homeowners in October. Of the remaining seven members, one resigned and two did not seek re-election. That left the RAC with the opportunity to infuse some new blood into the board's makeup. And that's the course they chose. The top four vote getters were actually RAC members who sought seats on the Community Association board. They included Charles Schroeder (14), Elaine Novak (13), Carol Lambert (12) and Mark Ragusa (12). Newcomer Kris DiGiovanni, an IBM executive, got 11 votes. Konopka, a retired Military Police officer, got 10 votes, as did Mary Andrews, a mother of five who has served on various subcommittees in the neighborhood. Leroy Sullivan, a TECO/People's Gas worker and the only black candidate, won a seat with eight votes. Maria Keltchka, whose background is in marketing management, got seven votes. To fill the final two seats, a run-off election among four candidates was necessary. The winners were Harriet Meier, a retired educator and salesperson, and Kathy Thomas, a corporate relations consultant and the wife of William Thomas, who runs the after-school tennis academy that was the focus of a year-long controversy. "My main concern is that we have a harmonious board," Meier said. "The adverse publicity we've received in the last few months has upset me greatly." In the election's aftermath, candidates who have been at odds in the past congratulated each other and spoke of conciliation in the coming months. "We're on a roll this year," Kathy Thomas said. "This year will be a great year for Westchase." Carolyn Schwartz, who came to watch the democratic process play out, was encouraged by what she had seen. "It shows a very positive thing that so many people here were willing to step up and choose to be involved," she said. "We're all ready for a change." - Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 813-226-3464 or at mabe@sptimes.com
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