Free Speech is at Risk
I love this community. That’s why I’m speaking up.
The Big Canoe We All Love.
Big Canoe is special. The mountains. The forests. The lakes. The trails. The quiet mornings. The friendships. The neighborly feel. The sense that we’re part of something that matters.
- That’s why I live here.
- That’s why I do business here.
- That’s why I chose to run for the Board.
As property owners we all have an obligation to protect what makes this place so great and help improve the parts that could be better. Open dialog with each other and our leadership is critical to maintaining the quality of life we came here for.
That open dialog is at risk due to manipulation and censorship by a small group of people.
This isn’t conversation—it’s curation.
On June 24th I was removed from two popular community groups on Facebook: Neighbor to Neighbor and Good Bad & Ugly.
No warning. No notice. No reason. Just banned.
Why This Matters
- Unequal Access – Other candidates may still be in those groups—if so, that’s giving them an unfair advantage in connecting with-property owners while I’m shut out.
- Controlled Narrative – Questions or comments about me and my businesses are already circulating in those groups. Without access, I can’t respond. That’s a deliberate attempt to silence a voice.
Other candidates remain. Other voices are welcomed. But mine was silenced. Why?
Note: The administrators of these groups have gone out of their way to claim they are not affiliated with or influenced by the POA. Are their actions consistent with that statement?
Big Canoe deserves transparency, fairness, and open dialogue—not censorship.
I asked KA Worrell Millholland and Cindy Farrington why I was removed from the groups. Here are their responses:
No valid explanation was given. They never cite a specific example of which rule I violated, or when and how I may have done so.
I assume this is the article in question when she says on my “POA Board site”.
If you read it carefully, I make it clear that KA said whoever originally posted the “lights” thread took it down on their own. I also make it clear that KA made her post in an attempt to clear up any confusion.
I then make it clear that it was declined automatically because it contains keywords that are not allowed in N2N.
What about this violates the rules?
She also mentions me being mentioned in an email from a long-time antagonist of the community–WHO I HAVE NO ASSOCIATION WITH–wrote on their own website.
They are punishing me for something someone else did. How is that fair?
What are they afraid of?
Silencing Isn’t Community. It’s censorship disguised as moderation.
Big Canoe–like any thriving community–should be a place where neighbors talk to each other. Where ideas are shared and disagreements handled with respect. Where the community controls the conversation.
When some people are allowed to speak freely—and others are shut out—that’s not community. That’s censorship.
Why is this happening? A clue might be in this presentation “Comms Assist Project: Amplifying Positive Communication in Big Canoe”, which is the result of a Leadership Big Canoe project mentored by Steve Faris (husband of Delaine Faris, Big Canoe’s Director of Communication).
In this presentation they make the case for recruiting people to, and I quote:
Assist the POA in getting the word out. Counteract disinformation. Defuse cynicism or detract from it.
View the full presentation here
On the surface this seems benign, and I agree with the notion of getting advocates to help amplify the positive messages in the community. It becomes a problem when they delete anything questioning or critical of the POA.
That’s censorship by what appears to be a small group of people hand-picked by the POA.
This does not align with Big Canoe’s “non-negotiable guiding values”.
How You Can Help.
Let’s Raise the Standard—Together.
Silencing some people for the sake of protecting the status-quo isn’t right. Let’s make Big Canoe better by standing up for fairness and open conversation.
That means:
- Fair access for all residents—not just the chosen few.
- Open, respectful dialogue—even when it’s uncomfortable.
- Leadership that reflects the best of Big Canoe—not the worst of politics.
We all want the same thing: a thriving, beautiful, well-run community we’re proud to call home.
Let’s work toward that. Together.
- Share this information with your friends and neighbors.
- Speak up. When you see censorship or favoritism, say something.
- Stay informed. Read, ask questions, don’t just accept one side.
- Vote. It’s the most powerful tool we have to shape this community’s future.
Big Canoe is worth protecting.
Let’s make sure it stays that way—for all of us.
Thank you for reading my platform. I hope you found it informative and helpful in understanding my vision for our community.
Have a question or something to say? Send me an email: jcfortheboard@gmail.comPrefer to talk? Book a time with me.
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J Cornelius — Candidate for the POA Board
jcornelius.com/poa
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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead