Why is this a secret?
It didn’t work for Maxwell Smart, and it won’t work for us.
You might thing that the essence of a democracy is an informed electorate. The board of directors of District 21 would like to disabuse you of this silly notion. They believe in an electorate kept in darkness and ignorance.
At their meeting during the most recent regional, the board suddenly went into “executive session”, expelling from the room all non-board personnel. Then proceeded a discussion, started by I know not whom, about how awful our current district director, Roger Smith, is and how important it is to recall and replace him. Note that because of the ‘executive session’, Roger was not permitted to be in the room to stand up for himself.
The nexus of the discontent, apparently, was the meeting with ACBL President Suzi Subek the previous day, to which all Unit presidents were invited but the District nabobs were pointedly ignored. That may have been very unwise of Roger; it was certainly not politic. It is my opinion the political elite were more upset over the subject of the meeting than the guest list, but there are certainly other thoughts on the subject.
A vote was taken, and it was decided to ask the unit boards to begin the process of recall–it requires a supermajority (75%?) of the unit board members throughout the district to effect the recall. Before adjourning the meeting, everyone was severely warned that this entire subject was confidential and under no circumstances to be discussed with anyone not on their unit board, who would also be bound by strict confidentiality.
I find this abhorrent, despicable and reprehensible.
If the District Board wants to replace the District Director, that is their privilege. If they feel that telling the truth is such a heinous act, then they are completely within their rights to dispense with his services. Perhaps they want to contend that a 9 year veteran of the ACBL Board, and past President of the ACBL, is incompetent. Roger is a big boy, I’ll leave it to him to make his own defense, not that telling the truth should require much of a defense among honest people.
What the District Board is not permitted, by any sense of decency, morality or fair play, is to keep this all a deep dark secret from the electorate. If a recall is indicated, then it should be shared with all of the players in the district, not just the super-secret cool kids club.
By some ghastly sense of entitlement, of superiority, of moral primacy, the cool kids have decided that not only do they know best, but we poor peons don’t need to be bothered with the messy details of their machinations. We are expected to pay our table fees and follow orders, not bothering our pretty little heads with the details of running the game. Don’t forget that this is the same group sitting on $400,000 of our money. What don’t they want to tell us about that little issue?
Why not ask your unit board member about this fiasco. Try to find out why an important decision is being taken behind a screen of obfuscation and darkness. Ask if this is the kind of district management we really want. There is nothing like sunshine to make the cockroaches scatter.
Totally Unauthorized 
What made finding out about the cheating possible? Openness and communication between players. I hope the board of our Unit will apply these principles before taking action on a recall. Your first responsibility is to your members, not the rest of District 21.
I would like to add that District 21 needs to be more transparent in its actions–in many ways–besides this particular situation. Even draft minutes of meetings are withheld for months. Treasurer’s reports are summarized instead of posted. Did we receive the payoff from the hotel for cancelling the regional? Etc.
Only a moron would expose himself and his district to litigation unnecessarily. Maybe it should be public, maybe not, but that doesn’t make anyone a cockroach.
What part of informing the members of the electorate about a recall election is actionable?
I should think the likelier action would come from members who want to know the truth about what is happening.
The truth is never slander.