* Since publication of this story, the May 20th meeting has been postponed for a TBD upcoming date. 

      Many people would agree that when running for an elected position, a candidate needs to be able to reach those qualified to cast a vote by campaigning. A majority of people would probably also agree that if incumbents have access to information on the voters, such as names and addresses, then those challenging the incumbents should also have access to the same information. At least that is the position of Bartonville resident Richard Yerxa, who is running for a seat on CoServ Electric’s elected board of directors. However, Yerxa says he is a little stumped on exactly how to reach the co-op’s members because he doesn’t have access to the same information that current board members have. “How does anyone campaign if they don’t give you a way to reach out?” Yerxa asks.

      The next election is coming up in June, and there are two of seven elected board members whose spots are currently up for election. District 5 nominees include Yerxa, who is running against incumbent Anne Vaden, and also challengers Mary Sue Friesenhahn and Mark Pape. Yerxa contacted The News Connection to try to draw attention to some issues he said he would like to see changed. The retired owner of five jewelry stores said he wants to serve on the CoServ Electric Board of Directors to bring transparency to the members, which he believes is one of the greatest challenges facing CoServ this year. “Many of our representatives are not fairly reflecting the members’ concerns and views. Rather, they have fallen prey to the political arena around them,” Yerxa said. He would like to see several changes come about, Yerxa stated, including restoring the trust between the members and Cooperative leadership and also implementing open records and meetings, making access to CoServ’s decisions more accessible to its members along with board meeting materials. “I want to make sure everyone has a voice in our electric cooperative, standing up for member’s needs and concerns, bringing their concerns to the board,” he added.                                     

      CoServe has about 140,000 members, but only about 2,000 historically have voted in elections that seat board members, and Yerxa said he would like to see that change as well.  Shane Laws, director of marketing and communications for CoServ said the ballots will be in the June edition of Texas Co-op Power, which all members should receive in the mail. The first day ballots can be mailed is May 26.  Laws said they will receive the official results at the Annual Meeting on June 23.  “Members are required to mail their ballots to an independent third party (CPA firm) for verification and counting.  We do not allow on-line voting,” Laws added. Yerxa is active in the Argyle Chamber of Commerce and a longtime active member of Cross Timbers Church. He owned and operated Yerxa Jewelry & Accessories for 30 years in Dallas until he retired about 5 years ago. During that time period, his business grew from one store to five stores with 27 employees. “Experience for over 30 years as a successful business owner allows me to bring key elements to any Board of Directors’ table. My proven skills in leadership, marketing, communication, and financial analysis coupled with the ability to evaluate day-to-day operations and strategic planning should be a welcomed asset to CoServ,” Yerxa said.

      Yerxa referred to the CoServ Watchdogs, a loose affiliation of member-owners of CoServ Electric who say they are concerned about questionable financial, ethical, and governance issues in the Cooperative. On their website, the group states that there has been specific problems with CoServ Director Elections over the last 5 years including providing voting lists with names, addresses and phone numbers to incumbent directors, but denying the same to challenger; rejecting certain votes from the vote count for invalid and unclear reasons; releasing the vote count for each candidate to directors on a daily basis so directors can turn up their efforts and get in more votes; providing blank ballots to directors so they can easily get more votes submitted; changing election rules midstream during elections if the results are not favorable; interviewing, badgering, and intimidating prospective director candidates, and escalating and making arbitrary interpretations for the qualification of candidates to run for a board seat.

      The public will have a chance to hear more about candidates and these issues at a candidate’s forum scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, at the Highland Village City Council Chambers, 1000 Highland Village Road. The News Connection’s Editor Bob Weir will moderate the event which CoServ members are invited to attend.