Community leaders and members including Pride staff and volunteers called for the current San Diego LGBT Pride Board of Directors to step down at a town hall forum on Sunday, Jan. 10.

“I believe what the board did was shameful. Not only did they violate their fiscal duties to the organization, but they also violated the trust of the community. I call for them to seat a new board and then to resign immediately,” said local businessowner Nick Moede to an audience of about 200 people at the San Diego LGBT Community Center.

Former Pride board members including Nicole Murray-Ramirez called for the community forum, which Joyce Marieb, former chief executive officer of the Greater San Diego Business Association, and former San Diego Democratic Club president Stephen Whitburn moderated.

“We’re going to have a discussion together where we look at the facts, where we talk with one another, where we have people represent their views and their heart-felt information,” Marieb said.

On Tuesday, Jan. 4, San Diego Pride board members – Chair Philip Princetta, Treasurer Mike Karim and Secretary Carl Worrell – dismissed San Diego Pride Executive Director Ron deHarte after he spoke out against the board voting to give Princetta a $5,000 check for his service to the organization. Board members are not to be compensated according to San Diego Pride’s bylaws. The following day, Production Assistant Jeffrey Redondo and Director of Development Ken St. Pierre resigned citing a loss of trust in the board. Princetta has since returned the money back to the organization.

The forum began with Whitburn, Marieb and former Pride board member Jeri Dilno who briefed the audience on San Diego Pride’s mission and governing structure.

“San Diego LGBT Pride’s mission is to foster pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, locally and globally,” Dilno said.

Whitburn read several passages from a copy of San Diego Pride’s bylaws:

All corporate powers shall be exercised by the board.

The board has the power to select and remove all officers.

The number of directors shall be not less than four and not more than 20.

Following Whitburn, representatives from two different groups – one made up of Pride volunteers and ambassadors and the other comprised of former Pride board members – read a statement and list of recommendations for the Pride board to implement. Both groups agreed on the following four recommendations:

• Appoint an interim board of directors

• Open board meetings to the public

• Make board meeting minutes publicly accessible

• Adopt a regular scheduled town hall meeting with the community

The groups disagreed, however, on matters involving the current board and recently dismissed or resigned staff members.

The volunteers/ambassadors group called for the board to step down and reinstate former staff members.

“A number of volunteers have stepped up and said they will not continue serving Pride this year if the board does not step down and if the staff is not reinstated,” said Pride volunteer Ben Cartwright, who represented the volunteers/ ambassadors group.

The Pride board alumni group did not call for the group of current board members to step down.

“It was the consensus of the gathered Pride board alumni to simply focus on outcomes that were doable, realistic and immediately achievable within the current construct of the San Diego Pride organization,” said former Pride board member Andrea Villa.

Nor did the Pride board alumni group recommend reinstating former Pride staff.

“Because we are aware of the bylaws, we realize that our only function is to deal with the board. So there isn’t anything we could think of when it comes to the staff because that’s the board’s decision,” said former Pride board member Judy Schaim, who represented the Pride board alumni group at the forum.

The alumni group did outline a series of more specific recommendations that included a formal and independent audit of San Diego Pride’s records and the publication of the audit, restoring Pride board guidelines for gender parity and ethnic diversity and creating a community advisory council.

After Cartwright and Schaim gave their group’s recommendations, Whitburn opened the forum for individual comments and questions.

The majority of individuals who spoke during the comment segment of the forum called for the current Pride board to step down.

“I publicly call for the [current board of directors] resignation. I believe that they are a corrupt group who is not serving our community right now,” said local activist Sara Beth Brooks.

“I personally feel that the current board members cannot serve in their current role,” said San Diego Pride Technical Director Seth Klonsky. “[They] should step down.”

“I believe the current three board members of San Diego Pride need to resign and should do so immediately because I believe that the trust in this community and the board of directors has been shattered,” said former San Diego Pride Director of Development Ken St. Pierre.

“But what do we do if the current board continues to refuse to resign,” asked Frank Jones, who identified himself as a “community volunteer.”

“My understanding is that the community doesn’t really have any tangible power over the sitting board of directors that is in control,” Whitburn said. “Although, nonprofits are regulated by various entities and that there are government agencies and courts that can become involved.”

In a symbolic gesture, at the end of the forum, the audience voted on whether the current Pride board should step down and whether to reinstate St. Pierre, Redondo and deHarte to their respective former positions. The majority of the audience voted ‘Yes’ to both propositions.

Whitburn said that he and Marieb will prepare a letter that summarizes the forum’s discussion and votes and provide it to the current Pride board by the end of this week.

On Monday afternoon, Princetta reaffirmed the current board’s commitment to not resign.

“We are staying on board until our terms are up,” Princetta said.

Chair Princetta and Treasure Karim’s term as Pride board members will end after this year’s annual Pride festival has concluded, Princetta said. Secretary Worrell’s term will end after the completion of the Pride 2011 festival, he added.