A high-profile member of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA) Board of Directors who has raised concerns about the organization says he was unfairly kicked off the Board.
It’s unclear why exactly Mike McGraw was removed from the ORRA Board last month. Neither his attorney nor the ORRA would provide the records or give details when Florida Politics asked.
In a statement, ORRA said it had received two unrelated formal complaints against McGraw and defended the procedures the organization undertook to remove him.
“ORRA takes all concerns brought through formal channels seriously and remains committed to upholding its bylaws and governance standards,” the organization said in a statement, adding that the details of the internal complaints are considered confidential.
ORRA Board members are volunteers and members of the association who are voted into their leadership positions.
ORRA has been in the spotlight after new revelations surfaced this year about the group’s connection to former Orange County Elections Supervisor Glen Gilzean. ORRA picked up the tab last year for Gilzean’s $16,500 swearing-in ceremony. Four months later, Gilzean gave ORRA’s foundation — which is led by Republican Rep. Susan Plasencia — a $45,000 grant. Facing questions, ORRA returned the money earlier this year.
ORRA outlined the steps it took to remove McGraw, who had been a former leader statewide and nationally in Realtor industry associations. He has been recognized statewide and locally as Realtor of the Year since his Realtor career began in 1997.
“Following established procedures, ORRA’s Audit Committee conducted a thorough review and investigation of each complaint. The Committee then presented its findings to the Board of Directors. After careful consideration — and upon determining that the necessary requirements were met — the Board voted to remove the board member. All non-abstaining members voted in favor,” ORRA said in a statement.
But McGraw was critical of the process, complaining he wasn’t allowed to bring an attorney to the late July meeting where he was voted out.
Before the meeting, he emailed other Board members and raised his issues with the process. He also said Board members are being kept in the dark about ORRA’s finances.
McGraw wrote that he had “serious concerns about the lack of due process and transparency in both governance and investigative procedures. These concerns are not new, and I have shared them with the Board on numerous occasions. … Separate from this matter, I have consistently raised concerns regarding the financial transparency and oversight of ORRA and its related entities.”
McGraw argued he had been improperly removed from the ORRA Board and denied the allegations against him.
“The bylaws clearly state that a petition to remove a director must be presented to the President with signatures from a majority of the Board. The version I received included no signatures and failed to meet the standard for transparency and procedural fairness,” he wrote.
McGraw also criticized ORRA’s handling of his complaint and brought up ORRA CEO Cliff Long, who had been previously accused of attempting to solicit a sex worker while on a work trip to Panama in 2020. ORRA hired a law firm to investigate the incident and how the organization handled the concerns involving its top leader.
“Despite the seriousness of these claims, Mr. Long was provided fundamental due process. In contrast, when I raised formal concerns and requested an equivalent independent review, my request was denied,” McGraw wrote in the email. “This unequal treatment deeply undermines the principles of fairness, impartiality and due process that should guide any organization’s internal proceedings.”
Florida Politics also reached out to the Board’s President and President-elect, who did not respond to a request for comment.
McGraw’s lawyer is Gary Nagle. Nagle represented Natalie Arrowsmith, who sued in 2021 after she was removed as the organization’s Board President during a special meeting. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed, although a Judge denied ORRA’s request to be awarded attorneys fees.
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