An Open Letter to Our Community from the San Diego LGBT Pride Board of Directors
January 5, 2010
The Board of Directors of San Diego LGBT Pride wholeheartedly apologizes for its indiscretion by providing a onetime only stipend to its chair Philip Princetta in early October 2009.
The stipend in the amount of five thousand dollars was given of pure intention, lack of malfeasance and just plain ordinary love for an individual who has donated literally thousands of hours of his time and energy at the expense of his own business and personal life to this organization and the community it serves.
If there is anything this board has learned from what we call the “pedophile crisis” of 2005, is that perception is everything and that absolute transparency is the order of the day. Never under any circumstances whatsoever, did the board intend to hide or mitigate this transaction.
Understanding that the former Executive Director did indeed bring this organization forward in many ways, there has always been a disparity or tension between the Board and the recent ED regarding transparency of information between the operations aspect of the organization and the board of directors whom are responsible for oversight of anything and everything having to do with San Diego Pride.
On December 17, 2009, over two months after the check for $5,000 was drawn, two board members were approached by the Executive Director with a plan that he said could make this entire issue “go away”. That plan was for Philip Princetta to resign prior to December 31, 2009. By doing so, he would not be listed on the IRS 990 form and as such the stipend to our board chair would never have to be disclosed.
From a legal standpoint, Dr. Princetta and the Board knew this idea was inappropriate and certainly not transparent. One can only imagine our dismay that the Executive Director of this outstanding organization would devise such a plan.
Ninety-nine percent of what this community has read so far on the issue is inaccurate and based on pure spin. It is a plan to remove the current governing body of this organization and “take it over,” plain and simple.
The Board of Directors of San Diego Pride has no intention of resigning. Instead we are going to apologize to our community and ask them to open their hearts to forgiveness. We will rebuild our board of directors and the minute we feel comfortable with board leadership that will continue the tradition of San Diego LGBT Pride as a community organization we will indeed let go and turn the organization over.
We want to make it crystal clear that our community understands San Diego LGBT Pride is a strong, solvent, charitable organization that they should always be proud of.
As pure as the intention was behind it, the stipend paid to Philip Princetta will be paid back to San Diego LGBT Pride in full.
The Board of Directors of San Diego LGBT Pride
It needs to be made clear that for the sake of a single $5000 payment to enrich a fellow board member, the San Diego Pride Board has literally facilitated the destruction of one of our community’s better non-profits. By digging their heals in and letting ego get in their way, the long term development capability of San Diego’s largest parade and festival has been thrown into serious jeopardy. To say that the board is trying to prevent a take over is down right crazy when in fact it is they who have staged a coup. It is they who fired an ED for expressing his opinion. What person, in their right mind, would even consider applying for the ED position under the current regime and their compromised state. I fear if the current board has not resigned soon, Pride in San Diego as we know it will cease to exist and 40 years of tradition will be destroyed. Princetta and his corrupt regime need to do the right thing by going away.
Hello everyone,
If you know anyone that has volunteered for San Diego Pride.
Please ask them to come and show support for our leader.
Ron deHarte.
He was fired for standing up to the board chair Dr.P. Princetta.
Dr. Princetta want to go to the gay mardi gras in Sydney and Ron told him that it would not be a good idea for pride to spend that much money to send him there for that event. Ron has also ask that the money that was given to Dr. Princetta to be returned to pride and for him to step down from the Pride Board. witch lead to Ron deHarte to be fired. No one should be fired for doing their job. We all need to stand up For Ron and tell Dr. Princetta to leave Pride his is no longer required. As he and two other board members did to Ron.