The 2007 Woodlands elections brought out a record number of voters to the polls.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the 2007 election from conflicts of interest to campaign sign removal\theft.
The election showed that The Woodlands Association (TWA) and the Woodlands Community Association (WCA) Board of Director’s are a tight knit group. I personally witnessed Claude Hunter (TWA Board of Director) propping a Walter Cooke (WCA candidate) campaign sign on a stop sign at the intersection of New Trails and Lake Woodlands on the morning of the election. Hunter is a Director for the TWA who was campaigning for a WCA candidate. Hunter was also an election judge in Cochran’s Crossing (WCA) on election day.
Since 2003 the residents of The Woodlands have paid $11,365.01 for election poll workers and election judge volunteers. Audra Thomas, Management Analyst for Community Associations of The Woodlands, stated, “the General Manager’s office has had to solicit volunteers to serve as election-day judges (including this year); these poll workers and election judges are compensated for their time.” I was surprised to see that volunteers get paid for their service and I imagine most people do not think that volunteers get paid.
In 2003 the Vice President of the WCA Board, Cheryl Crandall Tangen, presented a volunteer of the year award to an individual for their work with the WCA’s elections. The volunteer in question was paid for her services and got a volunteer of the year award.
