| NEWS ALERTS ON HOUSING From: American Homeowners Resource Center November 18, 1999 |
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| VENDOR LOBBY GROUP ASKED TO HALT RECRUITMENT OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS Practice by common interest development industry group questioned (CICP) has called on the Community Associations Institute (CAI) to cease its practice of recruiting government officials as members. The request was made in an open letter sent this week to CAI's board of directors and posted on an Internet newsgroup devoted to residential common interest development topics, misc.consumers.house.homeowner-assn. CAI, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, describes itself as 501(c)(6) organization in reference to the Internal Revenue Code category for non-profit trade associations that are formed to improve business conditions for their memberships. CICP learned of the organization's efforts to recruit government officials by while viewing a section of CAI's web site entitled "What Does CAI Do for Government Officials?" published on a page at the site at http://www.caionline.org/about/what-go.cfm?Aud=go There, CAI touts various benefits that would accrue to government officials who join CAI as members. "As a member, CAI will help you do your job better - regulating the industry," CAI states. "CAI's recruitment of government officials presents a clear conflict of interest," wrote CICP President Frederick L. Pilot in the letter to CAI's board. "Government officials must act on behalf of the public interest. If they become members of a trade association such as CAI whose memberships their policies and decisions directly impact, clearly they will then be forced to choose between their obligations to the public as government officials and their loyalties to CAI as members. The Common Interest Consumer Project therefore calls on CAI to immediately cease and desist from the disturbing and questionable practice of recruiting government officials as members." Note: Common Interest Consumer Project is a non-profit group that started in 1998 in the Sacramento, California area. |
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The American Homeowners Resource Center P. O. Box 97 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693 Telephone: (949) 366-2125 Website: http://www.ahrc.com Email: ahrc@ahrc.com © 1998, AHRC News Services |
