We, the undersigned residents of the Middletown Area, hereby demand that the Middletown Area Town Hall (M.A.T.H.) Board and the Lake County Board of Supervisors that oversees M.A.T.H. take joint and immediate action to ensure fair representation for the Middletown Proper region by retaining its mandated two seats on the M.A.T.H. Board. 

We also call for the immediate and permanent resignation of Chair Monica Rosenthal from the M.A.T.H. Board due to her improper actions that have undermined the integrity of the election process and violated the core principles of transparency and fairness as mandated by the Brown Act.

Reasons for this Petition:

1. Violation of Nomination Procedures: During the December 12th, 2024 M.A.T.H. meeting, Chair Monica Rosenthal officially closed election nominations and then just 20 minutes later falsely stated that nominations were still open in order to accept an additional nomination. She then refused to disqualify this nomination when confronted about it. This improper action compromised the integrity of the election process.

2. Misrepresentation of Election Procedures: Despite publicly stating when asked at the same December 12th meeting that the Middletown Proper region is mandated to have two seats on the M.A.T.H. Board, Rosenthal then made an unauthorized private decision to allocate one of the two vacating Middletown Proper seats to the At-Large region. This contradicts the M.A.T.H. bylaws' key provision to guarantee Middletown Proper's two board representatives at all times. Rosenthal's decision was made without public input or broader membership approval and was distributed to the M.A.T.H. audience via email in the "MATH 2025 Election Process Overview" document.

3. Overstepping Her Authority: Chair Rosenthal clearly overstepped her authority by making significant election decisions privately, without consulting the M.A.T.H. membership or adhering to the M.A.T.H. bylaws' major provisions guaranteeing the Middletown Proper region two board seats.

4. Failure to Correct Actions: Despite being informed of these serious issues in a formal written complaint, Chair Rosenthal failed to take corrective action to address the improper nomination and the misallocation of board seats.

Our Asks:

We believe these improper actions by Rosenthal have severely undermined the trust and confidence of Middletown Area residents in the M.A.T.H. Board's ability to govern fairly and transparently. Therefore, we demand the following:

1. The immediate correction and redistribution of the "M.A.T.H. 2025 Election Process Overview" document to reflect that two Middletown Proper seats are up for election.
2. The immediate resignation of Chair Monica Rosenthal from the M.A.T.H. Board for her improper actions and a permanent ban placed on her future participation on that board.
3. The formation of a committee to review and address these issues, ensuring that the M.A.T.H. Board adheres to its bylaws and the principles of the Brown Act now and in the future.

By signing this petition, we affirm our commitment to integrity, fair representation and transparent governance for the Middletown Area.