I have been following the progression of the St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union recall vote with great interest and now that the issue seems to be resolved I have a few observations.

The first thing to catch my attention was the characterization of the recall effort by SHFCU President/CEO Brooke Van Vleet as “disappointing, baseless, and disruptive.” I believe I can understand Van Vleet's perspective, but I have a slightly different view.

First, on the issue of whether it's baseless or not, I honestly cannot comment. The extent of my knowledge of the issues go no further than the stories I've read in the trade press, so I will respectfully pass on that subject. Whether the board recall effort is disruptive, however, I can most certainly agree with. The amount of time and resources that go into sending out ballots, tallying and verifying the votes, and making the arrangements for the special meeting likely diverted from other initiatives the credit union was or could have been working on.