Tell us what you're experiencing in your HOA

I've lived in an HOA community for 2 years, and have seen how incompetent, power-hungry directors can wreak havoc on the residents.  What recourse do we residents have?  In Arizona not much, unless of course we happen to be an attorney or we happen to have a large sum of money to retain an attorney.  Let me explain..in AZ, when one is dealing with this type of HOA Board, little can be accomplished by approaching and discussing community issues with the them, as power hungry directors are not going to listen to opposing views, so residents' other options include going to court or talking with state legislators.  In our fair state these issues are dealt with in Superior court, and all who bring suit in this court are held to the same procedural standards as a practicing attorney, even those who are pro se.  The bottom line is that AZ residents must hire an attorney at a substantial cost or face penalties should they not follow procedure.  Penalties of course can result in substantial $$.  So of course residents generally don't take this avenue.  Another option is to request that our state legislators enact laws to curtail these abusive HOAs.  We do have some legislators who are very responsive, but there are others who are not.  I created this blog so that residents could voice their concerns, tell their stories, 'out' unresponsive legislators, commend responsive legislators, and ultimately take control of their communities once again.  I'm disgusted with these 21st century gulags, and until we lose our 1st amendment rights, we can vent our frustrations here and set a course to resolve this problem.  I do request that this be a civil discussion, and that facts be presented.  For example if there's a particular CC&R that is being violated/abused, list it for us, then present your argument.  If there's a particular legislator who's not supporting a particular law, list the law, and the response of the legislator.  My time is limited, but I will post later this evening with some recent facts about a few of our legislators.  Till then, tell us your story.