Bottom line: It appears that the Columbia Association (“CA”) Board of Directors (elected by Columbia residents) is working to fire CA President and CEO Lakey Boyd. It’s now up to residents to show the CA Board they oppose this decision.

Columbia Association President Lakey Boyd is among the best leaders the organization has seen in a generation. In the year and a half since taking this leadership role, Lakey has embraced Columbia’s foundational vision to build a welcoming and inclusive community for all people. Hitting the ground running, Lakey has engaged the community, energized staff, and spoken up about what Columbia is and what it can be. She is nearly universally loved by the community and has positioned CA as a sound financial steward of the assessment fees paid by Columbia homeowners that finance its operations.

Yet, the CA Board is actively considering dismissing her. Lakey asked the Board of Directors to address speculation that the Board was lining up a replacement at a meeting on Oct. 27. Once news broke that Lakey’s position at CA was in jeopardy, the community came out in force to show the CA Board the will of the people. The CA senior leadership team, more than 150 CA employees, three village boards, and numerous community organizations, community leaders and residents spoke out in support of Ms. Boyd at the CA Board meeting on November 10th, including the Columbia Association senior leadership team, the Howard County NAACP, Columbia Community Cares, the Howard County Library System, Columbia Festival of the Arts, and community associations from three of Columbia’s ten villages (Harper’s Choice, Owen Brown and Wilde Lake). See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRjV7hguudk

Despite this outpouring of community support, the board has yet to respond to Ms. Boyd or the community about the persistent rumors - and statements by at least one village board member that they are working to remove her (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8lAgNY564 The CA Board has not denied the allegations that they intend to fire Ms. Boyd. Current reports indicates that the current Columbia Association Board of Directors is apparently willing to pay “whatever it takes,” which could be upwards of $1 million in taxpayer revenue, to dismiss Ms. Boyd, as reported in a recent article: https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/columbia-coup-update-paying-whatever-it-takes-to-oust-a-ceo/ 

This is absurd and doesn’t reflect the will of the residents that the Board serves. We ask Columbia residents and assessment-payers to sign this petition in support of CA President Lakey Boyd and demand that the CA Board cease all attempts to remove her from her position as President & CEO of Columbia Association. As the funders of Columbia Association, we do not want our assessment dollars to be used toward these efforts. Your voice matters - let it be heard.

Let Lakey lead and let's keep moving Columbia forward. 

#IStandWithLakey