Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation.

We are often told that residential associations are “Democracy, up close and personal”, that “there is nothing more democratic than a condo or  homeowners association.”  The online legal dictionary defines democracy as: “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections”.  It all sounds highly civilized, doesn’t it?  In either case, whether a direct form of democracy, or a representative form of government,  the presumption is that the people get to voice their opinions and articulate their desires.  There has to be some form of communication, otherwise it won’t work, no matter how pretty the words.

But what happens when the “people” decide to exercise their power and try to make this “up close and personal democracy” work?

Joining us On The Commons is Bill Davis.  Bill is a Texas attorney who chose to speak out about the problems in Privatopia and was sued for sharing his knowledge and experience in private, residential associations.  We’ll find out who sued him and what happened.