Jesse and Joel Stanley, co-founders of Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc., are asking shareholders of the Colorado CBD company to withhold their votes on four board nominees in favor of replacing them with new nominees, including themselves.

In a news release, the Stanley brothers urged shareholders to withhold votes for John Held, Thomas Lardieri, Alicia Morga and Jacques Tortoroli, who currently serves as CEO, ahead of the company’s annual general meeting on June 15.

The Stanleys also noted that a group of “supporting shareholders,” including Major League Baseball, has called for withholding votes.

“Without urgent action today, the future of Charlotte’s Web is at risk,” Joel Stanley said. “We call on the Charlotte’s Web Board and the four incumbent directors, who will fail to achieve majority support, to put shareholders first and to do the right thing by stepping down and avoid delaying change. Shareholders have seen the value of their investments collapse and the stock price is trading at an all-time low. The company is in need of a refreshed board, and we have the right people to take on the huge challenges that lie ahead, in order to restore shareholder value.”

Under Charlotte’s Web’s majority voting policy, any director that is not elected by at least a majority of the votes must immediately tender their resignation. The board must determine whether or not to accept the resignation within 90 days. The board must accept the resignation, unless it determines that the director should continue to serve on the board. The rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange require that a board accept the resignation absent exceptional circumstances that warrant the director continuing to serve on the board.

The Stanleys said they expect the board to accept any resignations and call a special meeting to fill any vacancies. However, to avoid a calling special meeting, the Stanleys urged the four directors to not stand for election and asked the Charlotte’s Web board to waive advance notice requirements so they could nominate themselves, as well as former Charlotte’s Web CFO Lynn Kehler and former Gaia Herbs CEO Angela McElwee.

“The significant cash burn rate with decreasing revenues must end immediately,” Jesse Stanley said. “The current leadership blames general industry decline and regulatory headwinds to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. The truth is that the actions of this board have clearly contributed to the destruction of shareholder value.”

Charlotte’s Web responded in a news release, noting that the Stanleys’ “demands generally, and the timing specifically, are ‎designed to circumvent the procedures and processes in place to protect shareholders and allow them to make an ‎informed decision with respect to the election of directors.”

Charlotte’s Web continued: “There are significant ongoing business relationships between Charlotte's Web and entities in which ‎Joel and/or Jesse hold direct or indirect interests, certain of which are or will be subject to board review and approval in the near future. The board does not intend to abrogate its fiduciary ‎responsibilities to shareholders by facilitating the removal of three independent targeted directors in favor of non-independents. This would ‎effectively hand control of the company to individuals of which at least two have significant conflicts of interest and who have ‎elected to avoid appropriate vetting procedures. Such procedures are designed ‎to, among other things, protect shareholders from conflicts of interest.‎”