Peninsula Homes Association President resigns amidst lawsuit controversy

by Chelsea Sektnan

Christine McNamara has stepped down as president of the Palos Verdes Homes Association after six years of serving on the board, the association announced in an email to homeowners on Tuesday.

Keith Geiger, who had been serving as vice president, will take over as president of the Homes Association board.

“We thank Christine for the time she dedicated to the Association during her tenure and wish her well in all future endeavors,” the board wrote.

The association did not give a reason for McNamara’s departure.

Brian Pressman, a Palos Verdes Estates homeowner who is suing the association over its election process, said McNamara’s departure marked “the end of a significant chapter for the PVHA.”

“Many members had serious concerns about decisions made during her tenure, and her departure reflects the kind of accountability that comes when a community speaks up,” Pressman said in a statement.

He said the association’s problems extend beyond a change in leadership.

“Seventeen years without a valid board election is a structural problem, not a personality problem,” Pressman said in his statement. “Five board members have governed 5,420 households without ever being elected by those households. That doesn’t change with Christine McNamara’s departure.”

Pressman said he hoped Geiger’s appointment would lead to a more productive discussion about the association’s election process.

“Keith Geiger is now president, and I genuinely look forward to working with him and the other board members toward a solution that gives PVHA members what they deserve: functioning elections where their votes actually count,” he said. “That is all our court case has ever been about.”

Pressman’s lawsuit asks the Los Angeles Superior Court to change the association’s election procedures after repeated failures to meet the quorum required to count ballots. Hearings in the case are scheduled for July 29, Aug. 5 and Aug. 19 at the Torrance courthouse.

First Amendment attorney Jeff Lewis, who represented residents in a similar lawsuit challenging the association’s election process in 2017, said he hopes the change in leadership leads to broader reforms.

“I hope the new leadership at the Homes Association will use this as an opportunity to reflect on its mission to serve their residents and to take a softer stance on the fees and election issues that residents have expressed are important to them,” Lewis said in a statement.

“For my part, I will continue to monitor the Homes Association’s activities and if their past illegal policies continue without change, I will take appropriate action on behalf of my clients.”

Savery Nash and Jim de Rosa, owners of Homeowner Resource Services, a Palos Verdes Estates consulting firm that assists homeowners navigating the PVHA and Art Jury approval process, also welcomed the leadership change.

“As former employees of PVHA, we are relieved to hear of the change in leadership,” they said in a joint statement. “We hope that the focus will shift away from the accumulation of money via punitive fines and fees and back to the intent: preserving the aesthetic of the community through quality architecture and design.”

“We always saw our role as helpers and advocates, to make the process easier. We are excited to see what the future will hold for PVHA and hope history has a part to play.” 

The leadership change was announced two weeks after Peninsula Magazine published an investigation into the association’s election practices, governance, and building review fees. 

McNamara did not respond to repeated requests for comment for that story. Geiger was the only sitting board member who agreed to be interviewed.

The association’s next board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 4:30 p.m. PEN