The member of student government who was elected Summer Senate chairman Wednesday lost his position on Friday after a re-vote at an emergency meeting.
The meeting was called to make up for Wednesday night because officials broke Oregon law when they elected members to head the summer committee with secret ballots. It was meant to be a simple re-vote, and those who spoke at the brief meeting said nobody’s mind should be changed. But student Senator Sara Hamilton, who lost by two votes Wednesday, beat out Senator Athan Papailiou Friday by one vote, 8 to 7. One senator abstained.
After tallying the votes in the corner of the room with another member Friday, Senator Erica Anderson announced the winner, but unlike Wednesday night, the round of applause was delayed and several senators’ jaws dropped in surprise.
The special meeting was called because Wednesday, former Senate President Stephanie Erickson instructed the mostly new senators to vote anonymously for the summer chairperson and vice chairperson. She said other student government committees have voted anonymously for years. According to Oregon Public Meetings Law, all governing branches and committees must announce how each elected official voted and for whom they voted. On Wednesday Erickson did neither.
Because the individual votes were not counted at the last meeting, it’s impossible to know who changed their vote, and several senators have declined to comment or give their opinions on why the vote changed.
Papailiou said he has his ideas about why the vote switched in favor of Hamilton, but said, “They’re my own for right now.”
The Summer Senate committee requires only six members, but the body’s power is limited. It may not allocate more than $5,000 to a student program; it may not give money to a program seeking a full budget funding, and it cannot makes changes or amendments to the Senate rules.
Hamilton offered Papailiou a parliamentarian position on Summer Senate, but he has not officially accepted. He said he would be happy to accept the position if the summer committee members agree with creating the position. Senator Jennifer Lleras, who ran unopposed in both elections, won again on Friday.
One senator, Drew Pinson, who did not attend Friday’s meeting, said he would not say who he voted for on Wednesday because of a lack of information about the Friday meeting. Had his vote tied the two candidates the Executive would break the tie. The ASUO Vice President, Juliana Guzman, is supposed to sit on Senate and break ties when necessary. She did not attend Wednesday or Friday, but ASUO President Jared Axelrod attended and would have broken a potential tie.
According to the scraps of paper picked out of the trash can Wednesday night after the meeting, Papailiou beat Hamilton by two votes, 8 to 6. But 15 senators attended the meeting, so either one senator didn’t vote or a ballot was missing. After the elections, two more senators were appointed by the ASUO Executive and confirmed by the Senate. They split their votes between the two candidates Friday.
Contact the campus and federal politics reporter at [email protected]
Senate changes vote at emergency meeting
Daily Emerald
June 9, 2006
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