Challengers say chamber is an ‘autocracy’

After last week’s heated Chamber of Commerce meeting, some of those who support an alternative slate of candidates for its board of directors say they are looking to create positive changes in an organization that they claimed has been run as an “autocracy,” disregards its own rules and does little to support local businesses.

But chamber President Mark Tannenbaum and board Chairman Michael Kerr strongly denied those claims, and said they are being made mostly by disgruntled former members whose problems with the organization are personal.

Member Michael Longworth dismissed that claim, and said after the meeting that a competing slate was proposed mainly because of the way Tannenbaum runs the organization, which Longworth and others claim has become less about supporting local businesses and more about wielding political power.

He pointed out that an election hasn’t been held in years, and that the organization does not follow its own bylaws. He added that a number of business owners and residents have expressed frustration with the chamber, and particularly with Tannenbaum. Many are willing to join the chamber, Longworth and others said, if a new president and board of directors were elected.

“Ever since we started business here 15 years ago, the chamber was regarded as a bit of a joke,” Longworth said. “It wasn’t for local businesses, but a power hop — some way of getting into politics or getting control. This is the first time that an alternative slate has been proposed, because we saw it as the only way to challenge the status quo. We want to make it a viable chamber for local economic success and to promote local businesses.”

Despite acknowledging that the chamber had been run as a political club under its former president, the late Larry Elovich, for years, Tannenbaum said that ever since he and Kerr took over a decade ago, it has been more active. He noted that they had launched a number of events, including street fairs and carnivals, car shows and restaurant and merchants’ weeks, and that the revenue had funded numerous advertising campaigns, such as spots on News12 promoting the business community, as well as holiday lights on Park Avenue, garbage containers and other initiatives that support local businesses.