Q.  We have a president of our co-op board that has been president for almost 30 years because he collects proxies from the shareholders who will not attend the yearly meeting and uses them to either reelect himself or others that side with his thinking on the operation of the building. Our building is now going down the tubes. How can we stop this process? 

                        —Frustrated Shareholder

A. “The simple answer to the question is ‘organize,’” says Phyllis Weisberg, an attorney with Armstrong Teasdale in New York City. “Meet with other shareholders to see if they agree with your viewpoint; offer to run for the board;  and collect proxies for your preferred candidates. Note that nothing prevents any shareholder from collecting proxies, nor must a shareholder use the same form of proxy as the board.”