It’s election time, with the annual meeting just two weeks away. Meet the Candidates night is Monday at 7pm, when we should be able to ask incumbents and candidates some tough questions about the state of the coop. But without having last year’s financials in hand — profit & loss and balance sheet — how do we even know what to ask?

So here’s a question: why are the financials always withheld until the last minute?

The fiscal year ended June 30. Four months is plenty of time to get the financials audited and distributed, which would give us all the opportunity to review the numbers, ask questions of the candidates, and make an informed choice. But if the last few years are an indication, the board will wait until just a couple days before the annual meeting to distribute financials.

Ellen Gentilviso is the chair of the finance committee; John Sotomayor is the treasurer. Along with Richard Kenny, they are directly responsible for this lapse and are asking you to re-elect them anyway. On Monday, ask this question and see if they can defend their record.