"New Majority" In Jordan Neighborhood Discusses Evidence Of Financial Irregularity

Photo By John Hoff

Today I dropped by 2009 James Ave. N., the headquarters of the Jordan Area Community Council (JACC) where the "New Majority" faction is firmly in power. Secretary Anne McCandless was sitting at a table, going through mail and, according to her own account, trying to piece together clues about what had been happening to the organization in the last few years while it was under the control of the "Old Majority."

Yes, I was told my "New Majority" and "Old Majority" labels were sticking...

There was frustration in the air as I entered. McCandless had a letter in her hand from a collection agency, demanding $1,506.62 for an electric bill. This didn't make sense. How could there be such a large unpaid electric bill?

McCandless and another person in the office sorted through the paperwork, making calls, figuring out the puzzle. In a short while the mystery was solved. JACC didn't owe an electric bill. Yes, the JACC electric bill had been overdue, recently, to the tune of $490.59. When former Executive Director Jerry Moore had called the electric company to shut off the power, the company told him he first needed to pay the outstanding bill, and THEN they would shut off the power. So, somehow, Moore paid the electric bill, then tried to shut off the power. But the power never got shut off. The electric company did some double-checking, first.

So the light bill had been paid. What, then, was the deal with this bill for $1,506.62? A call to the collection agency appeared to produce the following information: this was Jerry Moore's PERSONAL bill, not a bill owed by JACC. The collection agency was just trying to track down Jerry Moore.

"Um," I asked. "Why would somebody let their electric bill go for so long?"

McCandless laughed. She started showing me things, telling me things.

Item One; unpaid JACC gas bill due to Centerpoint Energy, $602.71.

Item Two; unpaid rent. How far back was rent unpaid on 2009 James Ave. N? According to McCandless, three or four months.

Item Three, JACC corporate charter filed with the office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. According to McCandless, Jerry had not been paying the annual fee and allowed JACC's corporate status to lapse for two years. JACC was due to be dissolved, but through the efforts of McCandless and a very nice, helpful person at the Secretary of State's Office, the fees were now paid, and JACC was in no danger of losing its corporate status.

Item Four, freezing the bank accounts. According to McCandless, Jerry Moore had not only written out a personal check to himself for $1,500 since being fired by the JACC board, but another check for $680 has been cashed by the bank (Franklin Bank) as well. (I didn't find out who wrote the check, or who cashed it) However, the bank account was now frozen. McCandless stated "several" checks had been presented to the bank, but not cashed. I tried to find out the meaning of "several." To McCandless, it meant four or more.

McCandless told me about four board members "marching in" to Franklin Bank and demanding the JACC accounts be frozen. A bank manager said, well, this extraordinary request would require a conversation with the bank's lawyers.

"Fine," McCandless and others agreed. "So go get the lawyers. We'll wait."

So they waited. And soon they had the accounts frozen.

I asked McCandless about when another executive director would be hired. According to McCandless, this will take place no time soon. There is little money left in the accounts to pay a new executive director. And members of the board are trying to figure out how to keep the organization running as the pieces are put together about what, exactly, happened in the last few years. Meanwhile, some members of JACC are still dealing with defamation lawsuits filed by (Old Majority member) Ben Myers.

In saying these things, McCandless showed no sign of being discouraged, of quitting. She talked about the long, dark midnight that went on for years, in which she and others were relegated to "vocal minority" status, and members of the "Old Majority" warned new board members to have nothing to do with these malcontents, squeaky wheels, and "racists" who were only there to disrupt. And yet McCandless said she and others kept pushing for answers, asking questions, never letting up.

At first, McCandless said, Board Member Dan Rother (pictured above, left) was not friendly to their point of view. Indeed, Rother would not even speak to members of the "New Majority" at first. And yet, bit by bit, Rother came around to their way of thinking. Now the New Majority appears firmly in control of JACC headquarters, and backed by city officials. Very little seems certain, but this much I can say for sure: the lights are on and somebody is home.

This blog is open to receiving comments and information from all sides in this conflict and I again wish to make that clear.