The Case Against Absentee Leadership
Chris Cheeley’s tenure as President of the Black Bay Village Owners Association (BBVOA) stands as a textbook example of leadership driven by self-interest rather than community service. Instead of fostering a collaborative and thriving neighborhood, his administration has been characterized by a glaring neglect of the community's actual needs and a blatant disregard for standard HOA governance.
Perhaps most troubling is his status as an absentee president; Mr. Cheeley has never even resided within the BBVOA community. His authority stems not from the trust of his neighbors, but from a carefully engineered conflict of interest. As the developer of the neighborhood's final 24 homes, he strategically retained a dozen properties as rentals. By weaponizing this substantial voting bloc, he has effectively monopolized control over the HOA board, ensuring that community decisions consistently align with his personal financial interests rather than the well-being of actual homeowners.
Under this monopolized control, his leadership has been defined by a deliberate and systemic lack of transparency. A fundamental fiduciary duty of any HOA president is to remain accessible and accountable to the membership they serve. In stark contrast, Mr. Cheeley actively evades this responsibility by intentionally withholding his phone number, email address, and any direct avenues of communication. This arrogant refusal to engage with residents silences legitimate homeowner concerns and prevents any meaningful oversight of his actions.
By flatly refusing to communicate with the very members he is supposed to represent, he operates completely unchecked. Through his absentee status, engineered voting dominance, and complete evasion of accountability, Mr. Cheeley has ultimately proven himself to be not just ineffective, but deeply detrimental to the neighborhood—arguably the worst and most self-serving HOA President this community could possibly endure.
- Absentee Leadership: Holding the office of President without ever having lived within the community, resulting in a severe disconnect from the day-to-day realities of the neighborhood.
- Manufactured Monopoly: Exploiting his position as a developer to hoard 12 rental properties, creating an unfair voting bloc that prioritizes personal control over democratic community input.
- Intentional Evasion: Refusing to provide basic contact information (phone or email) to HOA members, severely violating standard expectations of transparency and accountability.
- Dereliction of Duty: Failing to communicate with or address the concerns of the residents he was appointed to serve.