ASUO Vice President Eddy Morales’ recent citation by the Eugene Police Department has exposed a weakness in the ASUO’s heavily relied-upon “Green Tape Notebook,” which details the ASUO Constitution and myriad ASUO rules. The extensive document has no explicit provision for impeaching or firing an ASUO vice president, if such an action were necessary.

“To the best of my knowledge, the ASUO rules are silent on how to recall a vice president,” ASUO Student Senate Ombudsman Mike Sherman said. “I don’t know of any clause that says what the procedure would be.”
The removal of Morales from the vice president’s seat is, of course, speculative. Sherman said any action to remove Morales would be premature without a conviction.
“It’s not really relevant right now,” Sherman said.
Morales was cited Oct. 8 in connection with a Sept. 12 incident in which he allegedly assaulted a University senior. Morales now awaits trial after he pleaded innocent to charges of assault and criminal mischief on Oct. 22.
This isn’t the first time that an ASUO vice president has run into legal trouble. Ben Buzbee, the 2002-03 ASUO vice president, pleaded guilty to furnishing alcohol to minors during a keg party at his residence on Jan. 18.
In the future, ASUO might clarify and define the rules regarding removing a vice president.
“Once we recognize the shortcoming, we should fix it,” Sherman said.
He pointed out that if it ever becomes necessary to remove a vice president from office, the ASUO Constitution Court will have to analyze the ASUO Constitution and rules.
“There would have to be some interpretation that would have to be done,” Sherman said.
Several options in the Green Tape Notebook suggest solutions.
One is a recall movement that could remove a vice president from office.
Under such a circumstance, recall activists would have to notify the ASUO President and the Elections Board and circulate a petition.
The activists would need to obtain signatures from at least 10 percent of the student population within a month. If they were successful, a recall election — the process that removed California Gov. Gray Davis from office and installed Arnold Schwarzenegger — would ensue.
A majority vote in favor of the recall would result in the vice president’s removal.
Another possibility is that the Constitution Court could decide the Student Senate has the power to impeach a vice president. The ASUO Constitution gives the senate the power to impeach the president by a three-fourths vote, sending the case to the Constitution Court for trial, but makes no mention of the vice president.
A third possibility is that the ASUO Programs Administrator might have the power to fire a vice president.
ASUO Executive Rules state, “If the Administrator finds that there is just cause for firing the employee or appointee, the Programs Administrator will authorize written notice of termination, with at least a one-week delay between notice and termination.”
The notice would have to be approved by the administrator and the ASUO president.
There is doubt, however, about whether the vice president constitutes an “appointee” under the rules, since he is appointed by the president but also elected by the student body.
Even though there is no guideline for how to remove a vice president, the Green Tape Notebook still details the process for choosing a replacement.
If the vice president were removed, the president would appoint a replacement with the consent of the Student Senate, provided the next ASUO election was more than four weeks away.