A bunch of propaganda

Although the Odessa American article describing the recent annual meeting of the First Basin Credit Union implied that the meeting was conducted fairly, it was, in fact, the worst example of abuse of power in a public forum I have ever witnessed.

Before actually calling the meeting to order, Shem Culpepper launched into a skillfully prepared propaganda campaign of innuendo, red herring logic and unsupported accusations designed to poison the audience with the idea that anyone questioning him was being "misled by a radical group from North Carolina." This tirade went on for 45 minutes with no questions allowed from the floor and no opportunity for anyone to defend themselves or challenge the flawed logic.

As the final slide flashed on the screen showing how the credit union had grown under his leadership, he leapt across the stage pointing at the screen and shouting something about his stellar performance as CEO to wild cheers and applause from his supporters.

The message was very clear - Culpepper and the board were being attacked by "radicals," and he was not going to allow them to destroy the credit union!

The crowd was so inflamed by Culpepper's performance that any hope of an actual discussion of real issues ended before the meeting was called to order. Members have legitimate questions that deserve answers, including:

>> Why was the meeting scheduled for April 15? This was the least convenient workday of the entire year since many members were finalizing their tax returns and could not attend. Credit union bylaws actually require the meeting to be held at a time "convenient to the membership." Did Culpepper not want members to attend?

>> Why was his "report" to the membership given before the meeting was called to order? Why was the agenda reordered without the consent of the membership? These are both obvious violations of Robert's Rules of Order. If the rules had been followed, the parliamentarian would have been forced to protect members' rights to raise questions about the "report."

>> Why did the conversion proposal include a change in voting rights from one vote for each member to votes based on the amount of money in a member's account? Credit union conversion to a mutual savings bank is typically the first in a two-step process to ultimately convert to a stockholder-owned bank. Culpepper has stated that this second conversion would require a second vote and could only proceed if members wanted it. However, changing the voting rights in this way would allow a few wealthy investors to open large accounts, then use their new voting power to continue the conversion process regardless of what the majority of members wanted.

>> Why did Culpepper cite one example of FBCU CD interest rates being driven by "market forces" and use that example to suggest that interest rates would not be adversely affected if the credit union converted to a bank? According to a comprehensive Government Accounting Office study of 6,000 credit unions and banks, interest rates on loans are higher at banks and interest rates on savings are higher at credit unions. Data clearly suggests that conversion to a bank would adversely affect interest rates offered to members. This conclusion is confirmed in an independent study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The facts are very clear on this point.

>> Why did Culpepper spend so much time proving that the Save First Basin website is virtually identical to another website, then use that as "evidence" that the members of Save First Basin had been misled by a "radical organization?" That the websites are very similar does suggest a connection, but perhaps they both state the truth and the truth just doesn't change much. Culpepper never provided evidence of any misleading information on the websites.

Why the fear of questions and debate? Why the misleading report? Why the attacks? Why the manipulation? Respected economist James Wilcox at UC Berkley is an expert on credit unions. He's easy to find online and his webpage has links to several of his publications explaining the credit union conversion process clearly and objectively. I recommend looking there for answers to some of these questions.

Based on my experience, asking Culpepper will only produce more spin.

Tom McKelvey
Midland