Chairwoman of Wilmont's Old Guard Resigns

Two days after a fringe group won seats on the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition's Board of Directors, chairwoman Valerie Griffin stepped down, saying she wouldn't work in harmony with leaders she accused of "ignoring laws and transparency."

The newly-elected members of the "rebel group" have made similar criticisms of Griffin. 

Approaching her third year at the helm, Griffin announced her immediate resignation late Monday. "I cannot be part of a Board [of Directors] who have treated Wilmont, other Board members, and me the way we have been treated publicly, in email, and in the press," she wrote in her letter of resignation.

Griffin wrote in an accompanying email that "leaving is painful."

Her decision comes after the coalition's membership voted on Saturday to "forgive and forget the misbehavior" of some 15 members of a faction called the Wilmont Rebels, some of whom were subsequently voted onto the Board of Directors, the Santa Monica Outlook reported. 

The rebels had conducted a provisional election in June that Griffin challenged as a violation of the coalition's bylaws. Their memberships were terminated.

Many of them sought election this year after learning the coalition's board had voted to endorse a major renovation and expansion of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel. If ultimately approved by the Santa Monica City Council, the redo will be the biggest development project the neighborhood has seen in many years.

See also: Council Green-lights Miramar Development Talks

At the same meeting the rebels were forgiven, the membership also voted to reinstate the rebels' memberships and rescind the endorsement of the hotel's renovation. 

In her letter of resignation, Griffin questioned the legality of Saturday's meeting, saying the actions were not properly noticed.

At the meeting, "it became obvious that a majority did not care what was legal. They wanted to rescind membership terminations, enlarge the Board, and elect people without providing legal notification to the membership," she wrote.

"I cannot be part of a Board of Directors elected under those conditions," her letter continued.

It was unclear who would take the reins in her absence.