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

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

First, on the issue of whether it's baseless or not, I honestlycannot comment. The extent of my knowledge of the issues go nofurther than the stories I've read in the trade press, so I willrespectfully pass on that subject. Whether the board recall effortis disruptive, however, I can most certainly agree with. The amountof time and resources that go into sending out ballots, tallyingand verifying the votes, and making the arrangements for thespecial meeting likely diverted from other initiatives the creditunion was or could have been working on.