If the campaign to remove ASUO President Jay Breslow from office succeeds, it might not mean Breslow’s last days in student government.
According to the ASUO Constitution, Vice President Holly Magner would assume Breslow’s duties and powers if a student vote ousted him — but she would not gain the office of president.
Magner could then use her presidential power to appoint Breslow to his old job.
“It would be the most logical thing to do,” Magner said. “We work well together. This office works well together.”
Magner said she and Breslow have already discussed a scenario where Magner would appoint herself president and Breslow vice president. She said if she were then recalled, Breslow would regain his old job and the ASUO Executive would be the same as it is now.
But that plan wouldn’t work. The ASUO Constitution forbids an appointed vice president from becoming president. If Magner appointed Breslow to vice president, he couldn’t reclaim the presidency.
Whatever Magner chooses to do, her decision will need final approval from the Student Senate. Magner sits on the senate and would cast the final vote in the case of a tie.
But Senate President Peter Watts said that if the recall succeeds, Magner shouldn’t make the senate decide whether to put Breslow back in office.
“It would defeat the purpose,” Watts said. “I would expect Holly to run the office.”
Chief Justice Rob Raschio said the ASUO Constitution Court has yet to review the recall rules, and the court will be generally removed from the recall process.
ASUO rules require about 1,700 signatures to force a recall vote by the student population. Before the weekend, petitioners had gathered more than 70 signatures.
The court will be responsible for verifying the signatures and appointing an independent counsel to administer the election.
“We’re just going to follow the procedures of the constitution,” Raschio said.
Junior sociology major Chris Fosnight and freshman business major Jarrett White, who organized the recall campaign, have accused Breslow of political bias and neglecting his presidential duties.
They said Breslow refused to let Republican politicians and candidates speak at an Oct. 27 “Get Out the Vote” rally with former presidential candidate Bill Bradley and rock band Everclear. The event was sponsored by College Democrats, but the ASUO Executive had already scheduled the EMU Amphitheater for the day.
The Executive, which is required to refrain from political bias, allowed College Democrats to use its reserved time in the amphitheater for the rally.
Although Republican speakers attended the ASUO Candidate Fair later that day, Fosnight said a variety of political opinions should also have been represented at the morning rally.
Breslow also left more than 10 student government positions unfilled for longer than 30 days, which violates the ASUO Constitution. Some of those positions were never filled after last spring’s election. Fosnight said Breslow had plenty of time to fulfill his presidential responsibilities and fill those positions.
“He’s been president since last spring. He should have anticipated this, especially with a busy fall term and elections,” Fosnight said.
Fosnight and White said they don’t know how many signatures they got during the weekend. They have until Dec. 13 to get 10 percent of the student population to sign the recall petition.
White said four or five people have been on campus with clipboards collecting signatures, and they sent petition forms to many of the Greek houses.
White and Fosnight said they are confident they can get enough signatures to force the recall, but Magner said she isn’t worrying.
“They’re wasting their time,” she said. “They’re spending too much time reading nit-picks of the [Constitution].”
Magner said the majority of students don’t care whether Breslow filled positions on the court or the elections board within the required 30 days.
“In general, the office is running fine, and life will go on,” she said.
But White said the unfilled positions show the office is not running fine. He said even if the campaign fails, the petitioners have at least raised awareness about the ASUO and what student government does.
“Before we began, a lot of people didn’t know Jay or understand what he has or hasn’t done,” White said.