Since its founding in 1979, Coast Central Credit Union has grown to become the region's largest member-owned financial institution, with more than 76,000 members and 11 branches throughout Del Norte, Humboldt and Trinity counties. Photo: Andrew Goff.
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After nearly a decade of uncontested board elections, Coast Central Credit Union is in the midst of its second election campaign in the past two years. Ballots have been sent to the financial institution's 76,000 members, who will have the opportunity to decide who will represent their financial interests on the board of directors.
Coast Central holds elections for three of the nine board seats at the beginning of each year, and until recently, incumbents often won re-election by default because they were the only absent candidates.
The situation changed last year when three first-time candidates, known as “Members' Voice'' candidates, competed against incumbents for director positions for the first time in nine years.
This year, five people are running for the four open seats, including incumbent Terry Ann Meyerding, who was recommended by the nominating committee, Ron Ludbock, Matthew Wakefield, and Dane. They include Valadao and first-time candidate Carrie Peyton Dahlberg.
When asked what inspired her to run, former newspaper reporter Peyton Dahlberg replied: sacramento beeeditor, north coast journal A co-founder of the Humboldt Journalism Project, she said she was inspired by the Member's Voice policy during last year's election, which advocated for increased member participation and investment in the broader community.
Peyton Dahlberg contributed
“For me, [looked into] As I went through the application process, I realized that I could bring things to this board that I thought would be helpful to the board,” Peyton Dahlberg said. outpost In a recent phone interview. “I'm not running for any particular board. I'm just running for some ideas, even if voting members have to choose between us. …I think [Coast Central] is a great credit union and can be made even better through some pretty small adjustments. ”
Peyton Dahlberg said if elected, she would like to restructure the annual membership meeting to better accommodate member participation. “Let Coast Central hold at least two meetings a year where members can ask questions of the board and suggest board actions.”
One specific area that could be improved is the organization's fee structure, she said.
In 2022, Coast Central collected $4.78 million in overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees, according to the report. Report from the state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. These fees accounted for more than 7 percent of Coast Central's total revenue. The report also includes information from Compass Community Credit Union, Redwood Capital Bank, and Tri-Counties Bank, all of which reported less than 2 percent of their gross revenue from overdraft and insufficient funds fees. only was collected.
“Frankly, overdraft and insufficient funds fees ended up being paid by people who had other money problems,” Peyton Dahlberg said. “If these fees are disproportionately high, does that mean we, as an organization, are kicking people when they're down? … I don't know what the argument is for keeping it high. ”
Coast Central is donating hundreds of thousands of dollars Subsidy and scholarship Every year. Since 2008, Coast Central has awarded more than $2 million in grants to local non-profit organizations, ranging from $3,000 to $25,000 per applicant, up to $150,000 in bi-annual funding rounds. It has been awarded to commercial organizations. community investment program.
“Those look like great projects, but we have heard from members about how they weigh the importance of awarding more community grants in relation to various other expenditures and revenues for Coast Central. I want to hear it,” she said.
Peyton Dahlberg also spoke in favor of changing Coast Central's election and campaign rules to “allow for more dialogue” between candidates and legislators. Under current guidelines, candidates can submit a candidate statement of up to 250 words. However, “formal campaigning” is “strongly discouraged,” according to the Campaign and Petitions Regulations.
In the interest of impartiality and diplomacy among all volunteer candidates for election to the Board of Directors or Supervisory Board, organized meetings, traditional and non-traditional media sources, and in brochures prepared by candidates. Formal campaigning and/or campaigning by candidates through promotional literature, leaflets, newspapers, social media advertisements, etc., or distribution through radio, television, or electronic communications is strongly discouraged. Use of the Coast Central Credit Union logo in marketing materials is prohibited.
“I've heard that the rules for the last election were simpler and didn't include anything that would strongly discourage campaigning,” Peyton Dahlberg said. “This rule could cause great harm to credit union members. As soon as I learned about it, I had a strong interest in changing it.”
of outpost I obtained a copy of the election guidelines provided to candidates last year, and sure enough, there was nothing there that would prevent them from officially campaigning.
Peyton Dahlberg said, “We can't say last year's election caused this, but we can say that last year's election happened first and this happened after.” Correlation does not necessarily indicate causation. He pointed out that it was not a thing. “He spoke to one of the board members and he said part of his motivation was, [the new rule] It's just that the board didn't want some very rich person to come in and buy a bunch of full-page ads…and essentially use that money to buy positions that would change the bank's policy. ”
If that's the case, he said rules limiting campaign contributions would be more effective than restricting what candidates can share with Coast Central members.
“The potential harm is that [that] Members can't hear ideas…and I'm really concerned about low-informed voters,” she continued. “Maybe there's one thing that members really value, and someone running for office thought, 'Oh, I only have 250 words to explain what's most important to me, and I like this too, but it's not a good fit.''Then, if the candidate has no other support opportunities or is discouraged from taking advantage of other opportunities, the member may decide that this candidate is I didn’t even know it could be a perfect fit for what I’m interested in.”
Candidate information should be available at each Coast Central branch, she continued. After the election is over and the votes are counted, “members should have access to the final vote count.”
“Currently, Coast Central is only announcing the names of the winners,” she said. “In the last election, seven people ran for three seats. The names of the three winners were announced, but it was not revealed who received how many votes. This became an issue later this year, as at least two people who were not elected ran for seats on the board. …This means that the number of votes received in the previous election should be the only factor in selecting board members. If not, why turn a blind eye to potentially useful data for the board?”
Former Coast Central board member Peter Pennekamp also shared Peyton Dahlberg's concerns.
“In some ways, Coast Central is one of the best organizations here,” he said. Outpost. “But in other respects, I think we're just barely doing what we're supposed to do.”
Pennekamp said he has served on “dozens of boards” over the past 30 years and “never encountered a single board meeting” in that time. [board] It was more hostile to new ideas. ”
“[The organization] When I resigned, people said, “Are you going to resign?” [your membership]?' And I said, 'No!' I love this organization! I think they are insufficiently responsible to their members. …I resigned because I felt that management and a protectionist board were willing to go to any length to ensure that nothing was discussed. ”
of outpost We contacted each incumbent for additional comment on their candidacy. The current chairman of the board, Ron Rudebach, was the only incumbent to respond to our request for comment.
Ludbock, who has served on the board for the past 43 years, was reluctant to discuss his candidacy, but stressed the importance of having diverse perspectives on the board.
“I think it's great to have new members come on board to get new ideas and fresh perspectives, but I think it's great to have some senior members on the board to provide historical context,” he said in a recent phone interview. It's good to be a part of it,” he said. “I think it would be good to have a balance between the two.”
Ludbock had high praise for Coast Central, calling it “a great institution” and praising its staff and leadership for “working hard to serve all of our members.”
As for the remaining incumbents, Matthew Wakefield is a Crescent City-based certified public accountant and co-owner of Seaquake Brewing. “I have a deep understanding of the economic climate of our region and the economic challenges facing our residents,” he said in his candidacy statement. “My local roots drive my commitment to aligning credit union policies with the best interests of the communities we serve.”
Mr Wakefield said his practical experience as a local business owner gave him “practical insight into the financial needs of small businesses” and “a valuable perspective for shaping the credit union's support for local businesses”. .
Terri Ann Meyerding believes her 38 years of experience as an educator in the Burnt Ranch School District “gave me a skill set, objectivity and perseverance.” [needed] “I aim to be an asset to the board team,” her statement said. “I have served on the County Commission, helping implement state and federal guidelines for school districts and approving government processes.”
Dane Valadao, a lifelong Humboldt County resident and local developer, said his background in commercial lending and finance makes him a strong candidate for the board. “I have a strong work ethic and my decision-making skills are very calm and logic-based,” he said in a statement.
of outpost A request for additional candidate information was sent to Coast Central earlier this week. We requested a digital copy of the candidate's statement and contact information. Colleen Toste, vice president of marketing and communications, said Coast Central cannot provide candidate contact information for “privacy reasons.” She did not provide digital copies of candidates' statements.
We sent a follow-up request asking how long each current director has served on the board. Mr Toste replied: “If a candidate chooses to include it in their candidate statement, it's there. Otherwise, we can't share that information.”
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If you are a member and have not yet submitted your completed ballot, we encourage you to do so now. Ballots must be received at a Wisconsin address to be counted by Wednesday, January 31st. Ballots received after this date will be invalid.
Election results will be announced at the next annual membership meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd at 6:00 pm at Coast Central's Member Services Branch, 2650 Harrison Avenue in Eureka.
Find more information here.
