The POA does a lot of homework regarding candidates they promote. Helps me to know who to vote for when I see their choices. Fortunately, I have been away and have not had to deal with their unsolicited litter.

Hooray, now we know.....there is a Mrs CWGuy.
He has set a high standard for timely, concise posts. Welcome I look forward to your opinion.

One reason some people, including myself, love the POA, is that they are a watchdog that alerts the residents if the Developer is doing something fishy that may negatively affect residents.

You may have heard about the class action lawsuit against the Developer that was settled in 2008. The lawsuit, which was initiated by members of the POA, contended monthly amenity fees paid by every homeowner in the community had been misused by The Villages of Lake-Sumter Inc., the Village Center Community Development District and developer H. Gary Morse. A portion of the amenity fees is supposed to be set aside to maintain the amenities, but instead, there had been a drop-off in services and in maintenance of recreational facilities.Thanks to the lawsuit, the settlement required the developer to pay about $40 million over 13 years to replenish maintenance accounts.

I see people disparaging the POA, and I can't begin to fathom why. I like the way they look at all sides of an issue, and try to get all the facts, not just rely on the supposed good will of the Developer. That's smart business.

I consider the POA to be a Watchdog organization, with a focus on the general "health" of the Villages properties and residential areas (as opposed to individual residents, which Seniors vs. Crime would cover). Overdevelopment is a potential hazard in ANY development. Not just the overall comfort and personal preferences of its residents, but ecological impact, water sources and usage, economic impact, sharing of services, amenities, and utilities, traffic, road and infrastructure wear and tear, and everything else that goes along with it. In addition, the larger the development, the more likely you are to find security risks. It's impossible for Community Watch to be everywhere all at once, they are a volunteer organization.

So when the developer - or even a neighboring development built by some OTHER developer - starts doing something new, SOMEONE needs to keep a close eye on it. If the town makes deals with the District to pull their police department out of regular presence in the square, SOMEONE needs to report that. In fact, that needs to be reported while it's still a proposal, so that tax-paying residents have the opportunity to agree or object.

The HOA doesn't do that. The POA does. The HOA is more of a mouthpiece of the "administration." They're good at it. The POA is a mouthpiece for the "citizens." And they are good at that. Between the two, you have a somewhat balanced view of what IS - rather than a one-sided view of what they want you to know.

Community Watch is not a volunteer organization. Matter of fact they are currently hiring.