How YOU Can Help Create a Better NAR Candidate Process

Good morning or afternoon wherever you are, or for those of y'all in Hawaii, hello on the recording because I know this is before your first pot of coffee. Leigh Thomas Brown here joining you from what could have been warm and is definitely not sunny California, where I'm so excited to be hanging out with some members here in a little while. Over the years, our journey of volunteerism and real estate-ism has been filled with learning from each other, very spirited debates. Quite often after a day of meetings, we still sit and talk real estate like a bunch of totally bought-in nerds. And we have this shared ambition of lifting our communities through the practice of real estate, whether it's helping somebody find their path into entrepreneurship or just helping them figure out how to get the American dream to be theirs. Today I want to address an essential issue with transparency, because if there's anything you know about me, it's that I do have thoughts, I do have ideas, and I do have opinions, and I love having these conversations. So first of all, we'll start by thanking you for logging in. I know that many of y'all got an email from myself and from Mike Ford, my campaign manager, in an effort to make sure everybody was here. So feel free to share this with anybody who's interested in the inner workings of the National Association of Realtors. So if you remember back in the day, and that's how I know I'm middle-aged, by the way, I can say back when, NAR had a nomination process that really belonged to the collective voice of the organization. It was a very democratic petition process, and it wasn't just a rule in the book. It was the embodiment of, frankly, how we work together and how committed we are to hearing from each other. So I want you to know that the process did change. Right? And so as we look at how the process changed, there's always reasons for change, and they're not bad, and the change itself is not bad. However, there's often unintended consequences of our policies and our procedures. And as my dad taught me all along, the people are not usually the problem, it's almost always the process. So what I want you to know is that the process we're introducing today is not a new process, it is a reintroduction of a former process., and that is the petition process. That is not to say that the Campaign and Credentials Rules Committee is not dedicated. It is not to say they've done things wrong. It is to say that that process has taken a big decision out of a lot of hands and put it into a few hands. And of course, there's pros and cons to everything. I just happen to think that one of the unique charms of the National Association of Realtors, and frankly, One of our biggest strengths when we look at how we are perceived in our legislative bodies and how we are perceived by the public is that we're literally one of everybody. When I say that we are diverse voices, I mean, it's not just the boxes that social media would tell you to check of diversity. It is geographic, it is urban versus rural versus suburban and exurban, and then you've got the I mean, just go into one urban market and you have a whole bunch of different things. I mean, Miami is a far different urban market than Des Moines. And that's the coolest thing about the National Association. There's REALTORS® everywhere who bring in all these perspectives. I mean, when we talk about insurance, the issues that happen at the coast are very different than what happens in the mountain areas and wildly different from the center of a state. And it's so cool. It's the best thing about us. And it's what makes us so strong. When we do go talk to our elected officials, the strength is the one of everybody that we represent. And I should also mention that in looking at all of those geographic differences, inside all of those, you have residential and property managers and commercial and land. And then you have the corporate real estate people. You have the people who run the brokerages that encompass all of those different specialties. We have our appraisers. We have surveyors, we have people in every different corner of every part of this amazing country. And that's the best part of the National Association of Realtors. So when we talk about reintroducing the petition process, it's not just a check-the-box kind of a procedure. It's about understanding that when we take our decisions from a small group into a larger body of very qualified people, It's really celebrating this national association where every voice does matter. So let's just say you're watching this and you have no idea what I'm talking about. That might mean that you are a member of the national association who hasn't thrown your entire strength and energy into the governance side of things. And that's okay, because your voice should matter too. And if you are the super dialed-in person who is sitting here evaluating everything I say because you know the governance better than I do, Your voice matters too. That's amazing in us because this is a community. I've said it so many times in opportunities to speak to REALTORS® and in associations that if we want to fix what ails us as a society right now, the answers all lie in REALTOR® world because we know how to create a functioning community out of people who, if you look at them in any other stretch of life might look like they could never get along, but we somehow managed to at the National Association of Realtors. And a lot of that community comes from trust. We trust that each of us has the best interest of our clients in mind. We trust that each of us wants to not just adhere to a code of ethics, but go above and beyond it and live it in a better way. We don't just want to say that we are members of the association, we check a box with ethics training, man. We look at that and say, how do we make this stronger? How do we make this better? How do we become the professionals that raise the bar by their excellence and not just because they were told to. That happens because we trust each other to get there. I know that when I'm at a meeting and people bring out their notes, I know that they sat there looking through it trying to think about what their perspective brings to the table. Then as I watch around the room and people are scratching more notes, they're figuring out what somebody else has said and where it fits into their perspective. That's where is where the strength comes from, is where the answers come from. There's no question we're facing some really big problems right now, but the answers don't have to come from one person. Hallelujah for that. And I know that our current leadership team says, hallelujah, we don't have to do it by ourselves because they are operating in a space where we want to have as many ideas come forward as possible. And when you think about having all those voices come forward, we also know that at the core of our organization, there's a lot of fairness involved, and we want to make sure that each member, regardless if they're one day a REALTOR® or 50 years a REALTOR®, that they feel like it's their organization. I have had the conversation many times, y'all, in the last month with the coming up of different topics that are impacting the organization, and there's a lot of them going on, not just this petition process, which we've been working on for several weeks, but since this process started, other situations have cropped up that need to be addressed. With firmness and with clarity. And to get there, the members have to believe this is their organization. I had a very frank conversation with a member last week who said, this is— don't you say we, because I didn't create all these problems. And I said, baby, you are a dues-paying member. It is your organization, and we need you at the table because what if you're the one who has all the answers to everything that ails us? That's where the idea of fairness comes into play. And for those of y'all that have led your local and state associations or the National National Association, think about the words of the installation where it says, we believe in what? Fair play. Well, that's what we're trying to introduce here with the petition process is an active way to live out the words of fair play. Now, as you know, there were some of my social media posts that came under scrutiny and were used as a deciding factor to keep me from being on the ballot as First Vice President of National Association of Realtors. And while everyone has their own moments of expression, and I celebrate that, this process right here is not about Leigh Thomas Brown. It's not about Leigh Thomas Brown's opinions and beliefs. This is about the right to representation of all members and the right of the directors to be the leadership body. So whether you and I— I can't see who's on the other side of the camera, so hey— if we've ever agreed or disagreed about things in the past, I think what we have in common is that we really want REALTOR® World to be stronger because REALTOR® World takes care of our communities. REALTOR® World is out there making sure that REALTOR® Relief is reaching out in times of natural disaster, and REALTOR® World looks at the Good Neighbor Awards and feels like there's just so much more that's going on. And REALTOR® World looks at the situations around our legal battles and says, that's absolutely an incorrect telling of our story. So it's our obligation as people who don't always agree to come together and say, we're not going to fight about that right now because we have things to do that impact our neighbors. It's what I love about real estate, that what you do every day, and that is regardless of your specialty, you impact your neighbors in a positive way most of the time. And that's amazing. So when we think about this, I want to talk to you as that fellow REALTOR® as a dues-paying member organization, what I'm asking you for today is your support in reintroducing a process that stands for shared values, those values of a community that works, of a level of trust that allows us to get past where we disagree, and a level of fair play that says each member's voice absolutely does matter. So what we're introducing today is a petition process, and it's gonna get a little weedy, so dig in here with me for a second. The petition process was in place until about a decade ago, and then it went away, and the decision-making went from the Board of Directors to the Candidate Rules Committee, the CCRC. In that process, the CCRC has not been bad, but it's a tiny, tiny group, and the board didn't have a voice anymore. What we would like to introduce is an opportunity for more candidates to come forward. And again, you might not like me at all. That's okay. That's fine. We could still play nicely together. But this is not a Leigh Brown situation. This is an opportunity for us to say, how can we get more candidates to come forward? We have 1.5 million members. There is talent all over the place. How do we encourage more hands to go up? I look at the debate stages for next year's presidential race. I mean, we are a long way away from another fisticuffs in politics. And when I see all of these hands going up and I see all of these different opinions and ideas, it makes me excited for the country because that says there are a lot of people willing to bring their ideas and energy to the table. And that's what we want to see for the National Association. It's really good for us when we as directors have a chance to evaluate different candidates, plus this one, minus this one, and plus minus plus minus, so that we can make great decisions together. The petition process allows for that. Now, I want you to know as well, this was created over several weeks, so this is not something that has just come up overnight. Our amazing team, and I'm just going to say, I can't stress enough how fortunate I am to have been surrounded by thoughtful and patient people who have worked thoughtfully and patiently with our legal staff at the National Association of Realtors to get this right. Because what we're introducing as a process is not a one and done. This is to adapt our campaign rules now and for the future so that there are multiple opportunities for people like you to raise your hand and be involved. We wanted to get the legal language right because the last thing we want is to create any trouble. We just want to create more pathways. And for some folks, it might feel like bad timing with everything else going on. But you know what? Life is about figuring out how to multitask and do a lot of really important things at the same time while we support each other in protecting the American dream. Nothing happens in a silo, and we haven't created any of these processes in a silo. So when you go to lettheboarddecide.com to find the petition, you should know that on that form you can read all of the language. What we are introducing is not a change to the constitution or a change to the bylaws. This is a modification to our campaign rules so that we can create opportunities. And by the way, for those of y'all that are racking your brains with memory, it's where the former petition rules resided anyway. So we have not tried to create anything that's wildly crazy. We're trying to create a very clear and concise pathway so that we support the CCRC's work and we support the voice of the board of directors. Now, when you look at this petition on there, it is the directors who would need to sign the petition. Now, I've been asked if this is a public signature. That's the last piece we are trying to figure out with NAR Legal. As many of y'all know, petitions do tend to involve public representation of who has signed it, and so we're working that out right now. But I want you to know that one thing I stand for is We should not be retaliated against for our beliefs and where we differ and what we stand for. We should hear from people who agree with us and disagree with us and respect them as fellow members and as humans. And I frankly believe that if we would remove the fear of retaliation from the organization on the whole, man, we would be better. So I don't want to tell you what to do, but I will tell you what it means when you sign that petition. I am asking if you are a director to sign that petition, and if you're a member, I want you to sign it too, because I do believe that the members should have a voice in the process as well. But what you are signing is not a vote for Leigh Thomas Brown. I understand that for some of y'all, you haven't had a chance to hear why I've chosen to pursue this pathway of leadership. You want to hear what my ideas are. I get it. What you are signing is to put me on the ballot. If I'm on the ballot, then I have a chance to make my case. As it stands right now, I am still a member who is actively involved in doing everything I can to support the good work that this organization does. Our entire leadership team is aware of this video and of this process, and we are working together as a team to make sure that everything revolves around community, trust, and fair play. So when you sign that petition, again, it's not a vote for me. It is to say, okay, fine, put her name on the ballot. Let's let the directors decide. You will also find on that petition process, if you're curious about those social posts that were used to declare me ineligible, there is a link on the petition form at lettheboarddecide.com that allows you to see those 5 social posts and hear my contextual information. Now, you may have heard some rumors in the hallways that there were NDAs signed and confidentiality agreements and lots and lots of of conversations that happen in text and hallways. I want you to know that I did not sign an NDA. I did not sign any confidentiality agreements. However, I held off on publishing those social posts as a courtesy to our NAR legal staff because they asked me to be patient while we work through this process over these several weeks. I believe that's often the right path to take, that in the moments where you really, really are ready to lose your patience, that's when you need your patients the most. So with gratitude for your patients and with understanding for what y'all need from me, everything is now posted on that petition at lettheboarddecide.com. Now, just so you want to know, we are asking for signatures from all 50 states, including DC, makes 51, and the territories. I would love to hear from you across this entire organization. About where your voice matters. So if you go to lettheboarddecide.com, you can say that you are a champion of the board of directors having a voice in the organization that it leads. So what I want you to do now is go check out lettheboarddecide.com. If you are so inclined, please join the petition drive so that we may put forth a voice that says all members matter and all directors should have a voice. And then I want you to tag or share this with a fellow member or director who maybe was in an appointment right now or has their own questions so that they can hear this for themselves. If you're wondering why I do all of this on video, I do find it to be the best way to reach you, and I believe very firmly in taking advantage of the platforms that we have, because if we read just text and emails, y'all, we start to put our own biases into it and we aren't able to hear from each other. I think it's important that especially when the organization is having some challenging times that we hear from everybody and we don't discount their stories or their experiences, but we learn it and learn from it and take things forward and take that ball down the field. Thank you for logging in for this little bit of time. I'm grateful for your compassion and your grace and for your mutual respect for your fellow members.. And I know that in any contested race, the best ones showcase that we are all in this together and that there are different skill sets and different ideas brought to the table. But I will always be grateful for everyone who raises their hand in an effort to lead. And I'll just point out, in North Carolina this year, we had 3 candidates for president-elect, and the 3 of them presented 3 different cases. They were kind, They were compassionate, they were forward-thinking, and they were thoughtful of one another. And I know it was hard on all three of them, but it was good for our association because we had one of the highest levels of turnout in our vote that we've had in a long time because of the three of them. And so when we look at how contested races make us stronger, it should challenge each of us to figure out what this could look like and how we can make it better. By creating a stronger community built on trust that is absolutely focused on fair play. Now, before I leave y'all, let me look over here on the comments and see if there was something I needed to answer while I'm sitting here. And hello friends. And let's see. Yes, it's lettheboarddecide.com. I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to do the little crawler on my livestream. So if you're also proud of me for that, then sign the petition. Just kidding right there. Oh, and Natalie, there is something interesting on the likes on Twitter. Yesterday they rolled out a new feature where in your profile you can actually hide all of your likes. So when I've talked about the fact that the social media audit process, I do believe, has some flaws in it, when you look at how social media is evolving and what we are all learning about free speech and what we're learning about how these platforms work, If you see that the platform itself is making changes, that might tell us that we want to be thoughtful in how we continually evolve our processes as well. On the social media side, to answer that question, I do believe that process is very subjective. And as you'll find when you click on my video about the 5 tweets, I did not violate 10.5. I did not do anything that was hate or harassing speech. I was not violating any ethical They were some personal beliefs of mine. So the question becomes, in an increasingly subjective and divided world, at what point are we irritated with somebody because they disagree with us versus wanting to remove them, period, in the phrase that we've come to know as cancel culture? I personally like knowing what people think. I like knowing their standpoint, their viewpoint, because it allows me to have an even better conversation. More so than somebody who hides everything and then we find out later, because I just don't know that that's the healthiest thing for us. And I'll go back to retail politics, because right now we're seeing a lot of candidates emerge and we're hearing a lot of viewpoints. I'm really cool with that because it tells me that a lot of people are interested in making things better, and we can see that same process over here as well. And let's see what else is over here. Why was the process changed? Well, Penny, there was a— but there were two situations that came up in our elected politics. One revolved around our dearly departed past president, Charles McMillan from Texas, who had some challenges to his candidacy, and his name was brought up by petition process. And I will say, and I think many of y'all can agree, if you heard Charles's speech from the podium that day, you've never forgotten it because you could have heard a pin drop in that room. It was so powerful and impactful, and then he did an excellent job leading us. Not that his opponent wouldn't have, but the petition process allowed Charles to get on the ballot and some changes were made. And then there was another very interesting contested election that happened in the early 2010s, and in that process was when the Nominating Committee turned into the Campaign Candidate Rules Committee. So you've seen some things evolve and they're not necessarily bad things, but often there are unintended consequences. And that's the point here is how do we continually evolve in a way that promotes activity by the members and activity by more future leaders? If you know anything about the way that I like to lead, I am— well, my CEO will probably tell you that I've made her a little bit crazy this year because I had so many presidential advisory groups. I don't even pretend to know a fraction of all the information that's out there. I love getting more subject matter experts and more people into the room to bring forward their ideas. And I believe that similar to what the petition process does, when you get a lot of smart people in a room together, then the ideas can really start to flow. And when I look at our board of directors, I mean, it is made up of duly elected people from every corner of the organization, whether we're talking the Women's Council or the Residential Real Estate Council, CCIM. SR— no, SIOR and IROM. I mean, nobody remembers the smaller commercial ones, the Realtors Land Institute. You have people from all of these specialty worlds that bring in great information, but they may not have a seat on the CCRC, and so I want them to have a voice as well in what our future leadership looks like. And also considering that we do have some earlier career REALTORS® who may have found themselves in a board seat, but because of some internal rules they may not qualify to be in the committee that decides but would like to express their opinions. Returning the process to the board of directors does allow for more voices to come up and, and say something. And one thing I think would be a sign of health of our board of directors would be if more people were at the microphones, if our meetings lasted the whole 4 hours they're on the agenda for because there was robust conversation and new business and ideas, and I'm making every parliamentarian in the world throw up a little bit because that totally can take a meeting sideways. I love a sideways meeting because I know what happens then is that the creative juices start flowing. If I look at our organization and I look at the challenges we're facing, right now is the time for some creative leadership and for some new ideas and frankly, a lot of new hands to go up to say, I want to be a part of making this better. That's what leadership should look like. Leadership doesn't say you sit down and shut up. Leadership says you respectfully raise your hand, figure it out, and be a part of the process. That's not one person's job. We should all be thinking carefully about when we look at the organization, what can we do individually to help make it stronger? When do we raise our hands? Where do we raise our hands? It matters. It's not a personality thing. This is a moment when we have to ask ourselves how much this organization matters to the public. It's not about what NAR means to me, and it shouldn't be about what NAR means to you. It's what our trade association has done for the public that should matter to us right now. It is what this organization has meant to the people who would not be able to be in a house if not for the 30-year fix. That's what we have to stay focused on. If you look at some of the zoning and rules changes that are happening all over the country that are hurting homeownership, that's the power of this organization And that's why I want this organization to be as strong as possible. That's why I want as many voices in the room as possible. That's why I want to see contested races and more candidates so that we can talk more openly and more fluidly about what the organization has done and what it can do. And all of these things add up, y'all, but it starts at lettheboarddecide.com. It starts there with the petition process that says, yes, we'd like to see more candidates on the ballot. And heck, If that passes in November, if the board of directors decides to make a petition process, could more candidates get on the ballot and come up against me? Heck yes. And you know what I say to that? Whoop whoop, let's go. What if we had 5 candidates come forward to give you a robust choice? I would be so excited about that. It'd be so good for us because I got to tell y'all, I've said it before, I'll say it again, this is not about Leigh Thomas Brown. This is about a process for the future that allows more hands to go up and more ideas to be in the room to help us get stronger. And let's see, Cindy, the official rule is that we need 125 signatures in at least 5 states. Me being who I am, I would like to see 350 signatures of our 1,000-ish board members, and I'd like to see it from all 50 states and territories because I know that every corner of this organization should have a voice in this process. So we're going to overachieve, frankly. That's the goal. So if you will go to— you are blocked from the site, asking for access. I don't know what that means, Tom, so I'll have to ask, but maybe change browsers because it's worked for other people. That's lettheboarddecide.com. And by the way, when you see it, please feel free to share this with somebody else. Please let the rest of the world know that there's always a chance to make something better. I don't give up, y'all. I'm just going to— I'm going to close with that today. I'm not giving up on the association. I'm not giving up on where my voice can have an impact. I'm not giving up on you because we have too many members out there that just don't think this organization is theirs anymore. That conversation last week rocked my world because it broke my heart. That's a really good agent who brought it up. I know where she lives. I know what her clients say about her. For her to say this didn't feel like her organization just expressed to me the chasm that exists between the ones that are currently in the know and the rest of the membership. And I'm not saying the ones in the know are necessarily at fault, but what I'm saying is that there is a chasm and it's up to us to fix it. We can fix that bridge just like we can fix a lot of things. I've watched y'all walk into listing appointments where the seller had no hope and you gave them hope and a plan and they succeeded. I've seen y'all talk to a buyer whose credit score was 20 points away from the loan they needed, and you worked with them and got them there. All of those situations are about bridging gaps so that we can do things together. I don't want to burn anything to the ground, no matter what you've heard, but I will take something that's broken and I will help get the duct tape and the WD-40 and help fix it. That's what each of you has an opportunity to do right now. If you go to lettheboarddecide.com, and put your name on that. Again, not a vote for Leigh Thomas Brown, but a vote for us, a vote that says our board is capable and duly elected and should have a space in this process. And I'm going to stop rambling now, but let me check one more time and see if there is a question I did not answer. Let's see, let's see, let's see. I see a lot. Yeah, and yes, it is correct, any member can sign. We need director signatures to bring this forward at the meeting, but I want to hear from members too. I want you to know that I see you, I hear you, and I will be your voice even when you don't think you have one left. That is something that I have been given as a talent, and I'm going to use it for you. So that being said, lettheboarddecide.com. Thank y'all for tuning in. Thank you for what you have decided to do. To protect the American dream in each and every community. Thank you for deciding to raise your hand and bring your ideas to the table. Please reach out to your leadership team. I feel confident that they welcome all of your ideas because I've talked to many of them in the last couple of weeks. They are hungry for ideas and solutions. Bring yours forward too, because we never know who the one person is with the right idea at the right time., and it might just be you. So thank you. Thank you. If you need anything, you can find me, of course, on the interwebs. You can go to lettheboarddecide.com. I was supposed to put this up here because apparently that's what the young people do. So now I'm young. Mia, all of those posts are in the petition website. So if you go to lettheboarddecide.com, there is a video there that explains all 5 of those social posts. There was no signed NDA. That was a rumor in the hallways. My decision to hold back was a courtesy to our NAR legal staff because they asked me to be patient so that we could work through this process. And despite what you've heard about me, I do have some restraint and patience, and I like to save all of my soapboxing and energy for fixing the world around real estate. And we can do it together. So thank you, thank you. I'll see you guys around.