Is IREA Voices A Special Interest Group?
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Michael Chiodo
Mar 13, 2009, 8:00:40 PM3/13/09
to irea...@googlegroups.com
Voices,
We have been informed that at least one incumbent candidate for the IREA Board of Directors has sent the attached letter to Republicans in his district. Please take a moment to read it, and then give me a moment of your time to answer the question, "Is IREA Voices a special interest group?" There is information at the end about how you can participate.
Yes, IREA Voices is a special interest group, in that we are representing the desires of a subsection of the total IREA membership. We serve the interests of IREA member-owners who have no voice in the co-op that all of us own. Our doors are open to any IREA member-owners who want to join us to participate in the conversations that should be taking place in the offices and halls of our co-op headquarters in Sedalia, at the monthly Board of Directors meetings, and between district directors and member-owners at district meetings which should be open to everyone. Unfortunately, IREA is not interested in having these conversations, and so IREA Voices was started to give all of us a means to nurture this dialogue.
Let me tell you how I was recruited into IREA Voices. I do not not know what "self-styled environmental groups" are being referred to, and I was not at all involved in local politics for there to be a means by which "local liberal Democrats" could try to brainwash me into wanting to pay higher utility bills "to implement a liberal agenda." No, I was recruited by the Watts & Volts. See, I kept reading month after month about how scientists and the media the world over apparently have undertaken a vast conspiracy to dupe us into believing in this "global warming" scam, when in fact the earth is cooling! I didn't believe that my electric co-op had exclusive rights to see behind the curtain. After all, every other utility made no mention of this plot, instead choosing to fill their newsletters with helpful tips on how to use less water or simple ways to cut back on natural gas consumption. IREA recruited me by filling the Watts & Volts with polarizing misrepresentations, and I decided to join other like minded member-owners who have had enough. We have had enough of a co-op that says they are speaking for all of their "member-consumers" when they spend $500,000 annually to lobby against any legislation that even hints at changing the electricity distributed in IREA territory, while the lobbyists' real job is to protect IREA's vested interest in our coal burning power plant (coal accounting for approximately 80% of where our electricity comes from). We have had enough of a Board of Directors that gives lip service to being open and accessible, but does not follow through on even replying to a letter from a constituent--mail being the only means we have to directly contact our directors. We have had enough of being locked out of participation in our co-op, except for a whooping three minutes once a year to publicly address IREA at the annual meeting.
IREA Voices is being accused of having an agenda, but look who is pointing the finger! Why is the Watts & Volts filled with propaganda every month about how everything but maintaining the status-quo will increase our electric bill? We don't want to see the Watts & Volts filled with stories about how the ice caps are melting, the polar bears are dying, and we are all doomed. No, we want to see the Watts & Volts filled with informative and educational tips on how we can reduce our bottom line, to be able to make cutbacks in consumption but still enjoy the same quality of life. Left without information on how to be more energy efficient and conserve electricity, and left with misinformation on how proposed legislation will hurt our wallets, one must ask, “Why doesn't IREA want us to reduce our electricity usage?" Well, they have a $366 million stake in a new coal burning power plant that needs to be paid for! Let me remind you that this was a decision that none of us member-owners voted for or against. So, I ask you, who here really has an agenda?
In the interest of transparency, I would like to tell you about the people behind some of the emails you have received. We are volunteers who all have regular jobs and who get paid nothing for the efforts that we put into making IREA a better co-op for all of it's member-owners. I am a computer technician who travels around the country helping clients use technology to it's greatest potential in order for them to be as successful as they can. Neil Preister has recently come out of retirement because of the faltering economy, and he is selling kitchen and bath products to make ends meet. Chuck Saxton works in construction as an independent contractor. Elizabeth Hirsh teaches at a community college in the Denver metro area, though she lives squarely in IREA territory. None of us have financial interests in the energy industry, nor would we profit from renewable energy in any way other than by seeing our utility bills decrease. Then there are the rest of the VOICES. What are your stories, your reasons for voluntarily joining IREA Voices? Do you know you are referred to as extremists and alarmists?
If only we could get the same commitment from IREA and our current Board of Directors to be more transparent. For instance, who has put up the money for this mailing? Who is actually behind ICARE - IREA Consumers for Affordable and Reliable Energy? Notice that there is no contact information on their website, or any names to connect with--yeah, you can put it together--the special interest group that is ICARE. On the same website that the candidates claim to "not support the agenda of ANY special interest group," they are in fact being supported by a special interest group, a subsection of the member-OWNERS of IREA who are behind ICARE. Or, is it possible the website and their campaigns are in fact being funded by IREA money--our money? If so, they are being illegally supported by a special interest group--IREA management--who want to see their business model remain as it has for the past 70 years, squarely on coal.
Let me address the last point I want to make regarding this letter. IREA Voices is in fact a non-profit, non-partisan group that does more than just present ourselves "publicly as moderates." First, as I stated previously, we open our doors to all member-owners of IREA, regardless of political ideology. We want to belong to the best co-op in the country, not a co-op that only caters to the interests and needs of a hand-selected minority of the member-owners, the people who get invited to the invitation-only district meetings. Second, and maybe even more telling, one of the candidates that we are endorsing this election is a registered Republican! Of course, none of that is suppose to matter in a private, supposedly non-partisan election. These principles are clearly ignored by the incumbent candidate who sends out yet more propaganda to only Republicans in his district. IREA does not want the member-owners to know these truths, though, for it is far easier to steal another opportunity at real change by distracting us from what is really at stake.
We can only conclude that member-owners in the other districts facing elections (with ballots mailed within this next week) are also going to receive these letters. If you receive one in a different district, please scan it or photocopy it and send it to me.
Again, the only way we improve our co-op is to get directors elected who are willing to start having conversations with us member-owners. There will be people out in every district this weekend making our final efforts to raise awareness about the elections and candidates. We all have jobs and families, yet somehow we find the time to dedicate to this cause every week. If you can not find three hours to contribute even once during this campaign, you need to ask yourself why you are a member of IREA Voices. All of us need you to join in these crucial efforts!
Unlike in 2007, when IREA Voices fielded three candidates from our ranks, the candidates this year stepped up as individual members of IREA in their respective districts, because they want to see our co-op improve and become a modern utility that serves us, not just sells us electrons. These are not IREA Voices candidates, as the letter from the incumbent director insists; these are candidates that IREA Voices has decided to endorse based on their platforms:
District 3 - Mike Galvin - www.galvin4irea.com
District 5 - John Masson - www.masson4irea.com
District 7 - Charles Bucknam - www.bucknam.com/IREA
Contact me by email (mchi...@gmail.com) or phone (303) 731-6579 to join the volunteer efforts this weekend in any of these districts.
This is it folks! Take the risk of remaining silent, and you will see nothing change.
Thank you,
Michael Chiodo
We have been informed that at least one incumbent candidate for the IREA Board of Directors has sent the attached letter to Republicans in his district. Please take a moment to read it, and then give me a moment of your time to answer the question, "Is IREA Voices a special interest group?" There is information at the end about how you can participate.
Yes, IREA Voices is a special interest group, in that we are representing the desires of a subsection of the total IREA membership. We serve the interests of IREA member-owners who have no voice in the co-op that all of us own. Our doors are open to any IREA member-owners who want to join us to participate in the conversations that should be taking place in the offices and halls of our co-op headquarters in Sedalia, at the monthly Board of Directors meetings, and between district directors and member-owners at district meetings which should be open to everyone. Unfortunately, IREA is not interested in having these conversations, and so IREA Voices was started to give all of us a means to nurture this dialogue.
Let me tell you how I was recruited into IREA Voices. I do not not know what "self-styled environmental groups" are being referred to, and I was not at all involved in local politics for there to be a means by which "local liberal Democrats" could try to brainwash me into wanting to pay higher utility bills "to implement a liberal agenda." No, I was recruited by the Watts & Volts. See, I kept reading month after month about how scientists and the media the world over apparently have undertaken a vast conspiracy to dupe us into believing in this "global warming" scam, when in fact the earth is cooling! I didn't believe that my electric co-op had exclusive rights to see behind the curtain. After all, every other utility made no mention of this plot, instead choosing to fill their newsletters with helpful tips on how to use less water or simple ways to cut back on natural gas consumption. IREA recruited me by filling the Watts & Volts with polarizing misrepresentations, and I decided to join other like minded member-owners who have had enough. We have had enough of a co-op that says they are speaking for all of their "member-consumers" when they spend $500,000 annually to lobby against any legislation that even hints at changing the electricity distributed in IREA territory, while the lobbyists' real job is to protect IREA's vested interest in our coal burning power plant (coal accounting for approximately 80% of where our electricity comes from). We have had enough of a Board of Directors that gives lip service to being open and accessible, but does not follow through on even replying to a letter from a constituent--mail being the only means we have to directly contact our directors. We have had enough of being locked out of participation in our co-op, except for a whooping three minutes once a year to publicly address IREA at the annual meeting.
IREA Voices is being accused of having an agenda, but look who is pointing the finger! Why is the Watts & Volts filled with propaganda every month about how everything but maintaining the status-quo will increase our electric bill? We don't want to see the Watts & Volts filled with stories about how the ice caps are melting, the polar bears are dying, and we are all doomed. No, we want to see the Watts & Volts filled with informative and educational tips on how we can reduce our bottom line, to be able to make cutbacks in consumption but still enjoy the same quality of life. Left without information on how to be more energy efficient and conserve electricity, and left with misinformation on how proposed legislation will hurt our wallets, one must ask, “Why doesn't IREA want us to reduce our electricity usage?" Well, they have a $366 million stake in a new coal burning power plant that needs to be paid for! Let me remind you that this was a decision that none of us member-owners voted for or against. So, I ask you, who here really has an agenda?
In the interest of transparency, I would like to tell you about the people behind some of the emails you have received. We are volunteers who all have regular jobs and who get paid nothing for the efforts that we put into making IREA a better co-op for all of it's member-owners. I am a computer technician who travels around the country helping clients use technology to it's greatest potential in order for them to be as successful as they can. Neil Preister has recently come out of retirement because of the faltering economy, and he is selling kitchen and bath products to make ends meet. Chuck Saxton works in construction as an independent contractor. Elizabeth Hirsh teaches at a community college in the Denver metro area, though she lives squarely in IREA territory. None of us have financial interests in the energy industry, nor would we profit from renewable energy in any way other than by seeing our utility bills decrease. Then there are the rest of the VOICES. What are your stories, your reasons for voluntarily joining IREA Voices? Do you know you are referred to as extremists and alarmists?
If only we could get the same commitment from IREA and our current Board of Directors to be more transparent. For instance, who has put up the money for this mailing? Who is actually behind ICARE - IREA Consumers for Affordable and Reliable Energy? Notice that there is no contact information on their website, or any names to connect with--yeah, you can put it together--the special interest group that is ICARE. On the same website that the candidates claim to "not support the agenda of ANY special interest group," they are in fact being supported by a special interest group, a subsection of the member-OWNERS of IREA who are behind ICARE. Or, is it possible the website and their campaigns are in fact being funded by IREA money--our money? If so, they are being illegally supported by a special interest group--IREA management--who want to see their business model remain as it has for the past 70 years, squarely on coal.
Let me address the last point I want to make regarding this letter. IREA Voices is in fact a non-profit, non-partisan group that does more than just present ourselves "publicly as moderates." First, as I stated previously, we open our doors to all member-owners of IREA, regardless of political ideology. We want to belong to the best co-op in the country, not a co-op that only caters to the interests and needs of a hand-selected minority of the member-owners, the people who get invited to the invitation-only district meetings. Second, and maybe even more telling, one of the candidates that we are endorsing this election is a registered Republican! Of course, none of that is suppose to matter in a private, supposedly non-partisan election. These principles are clearly ignored by the incumbent candidate who sends out yet more propaganda to only Republicans in his district. IREA does not want the member-owners to know these truths, though, for it is far easier to steal another opportunity at real change by distracting us from what is really at stake.
We can only conclude that member-owners in the other districts facing elections (with ballots mailed within this next week) are also going to receive these letters. If you receive one in a different district, please scan it or photocopy it and send it to me.
Again, the only way we improve our co-op is to get directors elected who are willing to start having conversations with us member-owners. There will be people out in every district this weekend making our final efforts to raise awareness about the elections and candidates. We all have jobs and families, yet somehow we find the time to dedicate to this cause every week. If you can not find three hours to contribute even once during this campaign, you need to ask yourself why you are a member of IREA Voices. All of us need you to join in these crucial efforts!
Unlike in 2007, when IREA Voices fielded three candidates from our ranks, the candidates this year stepped up as individual members of IREA in their respective districts, because they want to see our co-op improve and become a modern utility that serves us, not just sells us electrons. These are not IREA Voices candidates, as the letter from the incumbent director insists; these are candidates that IREA Voices has decided to endorse based on their platforms:
District 3 - Mike Galvin - www.galvin4irea.com
District 5 - John Masson - www.masson4irea.com
District 7 - Charles Bucknam - www.bucknam.com/IREA
Contact me by email (mchi...@gmail.com) or phone (303) 731-6579 to join the volunteer efforts this weekend in any of these districts.
This is it folks! Take the risk of remaining silent, and you will see nothing change.
Thank you,
Michael Chiodo
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