Setsuko Hayakawa for Director

Dear Board Members and Fellow Owners of Nauru Tower Apartments:
 
My husband (Professor Emeritus of Rutgers University) and I (retired corporate attorney), moved from Princeton, New Jersey to Nauru Tower in June of 2004.   Since then, we have encountered a number of occasions which have finally convinced me  that I should run for a Directorship on the Nauru Tower Board of Directors, in order to make a difference.   I, therefore, come to this election with  a certain sense of urgency, and clearly defined issues to be dealt with.   I will explain.
 
ISSUES:
 
1.  Policy of “exclusion”,  lack of accountability to Association members.  
When I first attended the 2005 Owners’ Annual Meeting, I  was very surprised to observe that very few people in the audience spoke out or asked questions.  I wondered why.  In the meantime I have come to understand that although owners are frustrated with the Board’s inaction and lack of accountability to the owners, they kept quiet, because the Board tries to supress the owners’ free expression of opinions.   It seems to me that our Board has been using the policy of “exclusion” rather than “inclusion”.   
 
2.  Lack of Integrity.
The continued practice of “suppression” and “exclusion” seems to have created an
environment where people are afraid to speak out, became passive and indifferent.  In such an environment, it must have been easy for those BOD members to be engaged in certain unsavory financial transactions like the one that was discussed at the Board meeting of February 20, 2007. 
     
EFFORTS THAT I WILL MAKE:  If I am elected, I will do my best to realize the following:
 
1.   Transparency.
Try to bring about transparency in the BOD’s decision making process, by finding ways to communicate more freely with the Association members. 
 
2.   Wider participation. 
Promote wider participation of the Association members in the process of decision making, by creating a system of Committees.   Our Association  has  so many talented people with  exceptionally valuable life experiences.  We should invite them to participate in various Committees to advise the Board .   This will not only contribute to the betterment of the Association but also will help the committee members to prepare themselves to become future Board members of the Association. 
 
GOAL:   By honestly facing and correcting the problems of our Board, we will together recover our inner integrity, pride  and respect and trust of our community at large.  What we need is a “Good Stewardship” on the part of the Board and the management. 
 
PERSONAL BACKGROUND:  BA with major in Economics from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (Awardee of the Rutgers Award in Excellence in Economics,)  and JD (Juris Doctor) from Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey.  Licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey, but worked exclusively in New Jersey.   After several years of practice in private law firms, I became an In-House-Counsel (Corporate Attorney) of Permacel (a Nitto Denko Company), in New Brunswick, New Jersey .   After 11 years of service as the Corporate Counsel and the Corporate Secretary,  keeping the company clean,  I retired in 2001, due to my husband’s health conditions.
 
Respectfully,
 
Setsuko Hayakawa, Esq.
Unit #3901, Nauru Tower  (Tel.  591-0779)                                                                                         2/28/2007