Re: Thou Shalt Control Thy Neighbor...
My friend Gary had to deal with people like this in his association. It lends credence to my theory that most political systems tend to select for the kind of people who get a kick out of telling other people--usually their betters--what to do.
On the lower levels, homeowners associations, like you say, certainly seem to attract such people. I have found student government at colleges to be another seemingly endless reservoir of amateur dictators. I'm curious to know how many of these people eventually graduate to school boards, then city hall, and finally move on to terrorize the entire nation from Washington.