CSAW resident Kathy Kelley sez:

Maggi Battalino no longer consults CSAW members or board members as to new artists coming into the building. You can be sure that she is carefully handpicking artist to try to counter her future removal from office.

Maggi in spite of having sent the by-laws to committee this past year has decided they are not valid. Though she regularly makes statements saying something is against policy, she refuses to disclose what that policy is.

She claims if we un-elect her and elect new representation she will have the owners give us 30 days notice.

Additionally Maggi claims to have been the sole rescuer of CSAW after previous member artists incurred a large debt to the owners of our building. Yet this is not true. The board and artist members chose to increase their monthly fees in order to pay back CSAWs debt. Each artist who stayed or joined helped pay back this debt. Artist members maintained the building. Maggi still collects the excess we agreed to pay (to pay off the previous debt) and uses it however she pleases with absolutely no accountability.

Because her behavior is unethical, illegal, eradicate, and hostile she is a liability to the owners as well as the current members. She should be removed from office. Unfortunately, the owners believe based on Maggi’s evaluation that it is the current set of artists (whom Maggi helped select) who are the problem.

It is not mutiny to expect an elected official to uphold their duties and account to the body that elected them. We have tried to handle this internal. It seems to me it is time to involve lawyers.