12-Apr-13 – When seven residents running for the condo board of River North’s Marina City wanted to promote a “meet the candidates” night, they slipped notes under doors but invested most of their efforts online.

About 80 people took them up on their offer, meeting at Dick’s Last Resort Thursday evening. In less than three weeks, approximately 700 condo owners at Marina City will vote for up to seven candidates on one of two slates – one with four incumbents and the other, pictured above, with two incumbents. With 14 people running for seven seats on the board of directors of Marina Towers Condominium Association, it is by far the most number of choices residents have seen for many years.

“The clean slate” candidates have their own website, a Facebook page, a presence on a blog for Marina City residents, and pages on marinacity.org, a site managed by Marina City Online. Though traffic to the sites is still relatively low, it is the first time a campaign for condo board at Marina City has been fought online – and nationwide, the group is clearly among early condo-dwelling adopters of the Internet.

Both groups agree Marina City is a “treasure,” “world renowned,” and must move forward to stay competitive. What has separated the two campaigns has been one group’s extensive use of the Internet and social media in particular to get its message out – but not without criticism from the other group.

Running against “the clean slate” are incumbents Peter Desch, Phyllis Hartford, Gautier Laude, and current MTCA president Donna Leonard, along with James Abraham, Jackie Berry, and Valerie Wenzel.

It is a “particularly negative campaign,” says Leonard. In an April 8 letter to unit owners, Leonard said the group opposing her has “published false information” going back to last November.

“They have engaged in a campaign that is based upon misleading information spread through the use of the Internet and social media,” claims Leonard (left), “to diminish the image of Marina City in the eyes of the public.” Though she did not elaborate, Leonard says the “negative campaigning has devalued Marina City as a community [and] as an overall investment” and that “outside Realtors will not recommend Marina City to their clients.”

The condo board election will be held at the association’s annual meeting on April 29.