Council Elections Unsettle Old Guard

Sunday night's Undergraduate Council executive elections represent what may be the biggest shake-up of council leadership in the organization's 14 year history.

The four newly elected officers half a combined total of two-and-a-half years of council experience.

Newly elected President Robert M. Hyman '98-'97 has served one year, half of it as chair of the council's Finance Committee.

Vice-president Brian R. Blais '97 has also served one year, half of it as treasurer. Edward B. Smith '97, the new treasurer, has served only one semester, and Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 was elected secretary at her very first council meeting.

Many on the council attribute the sudden change in leadership to the impact of the Progressive Undergraduate Council Coalition (PUCC), a group launched last spring which is dedicated to reforming the council and redefining its agenda.

Veteran council members and some defeated officer candidates said they feared the general electiorr results would lead to partisan block voting, inexperienced decision making and an end to real debate over issues.

In the council's general elections last week, 32 PUCC candidates were voted into office, most of whom had not been on the council before. Six of the 21 first-year seats on the council are held by PUCC members.

Combining the PUCC vote with 15 other first-year members creates a block of 47 votes--a majority on the council if they were to all votes together.

Defeated vice-presidential candidate and former Campus Life Committee Co-chair Rudd W. Coffey '97 said there seemed to be a common thread tying together different vote counts throughout the evening.

Results of run-off elections in the presidential, vice-presidential and secretary races were 51 to 27, 47 to 29 and 48 to 24, respectively.

"Generally this says the freshmen and PUCC supported one person [in each race]," Coffey said.

Jonathan P. Feeney '97, the defeated presidential candidate who seemed the front-runner coming in, said PUCC's role in the elections was too partisan.

"PUCC walked into the room knowing exactly who they were going to vote for," said Feeney, who co-chaired the Campus Life Committee with Coffee and is entering his fifth semester on the council.

"They voted as a block," he said. "It's their right to do that, but it's exclusively politics."

PUCC organizer Jedediah S. Purdy '97 said he agreed PUCC tended to vote as a block, but members did so of their own accord. Purdy was defeated in recent council elections but maintains an important role in PUCC leadership.

"In the presidential and vice-presidential elections, while PUCC did not determine in advance to support one candidate or another, members spontaneously coalesced around one candidate or the other," Purdy said.

PUCC candidates ran on a platform of bringing change to the council, specifically giving council members a student mandate and increasing the relevance of the council on campus.

"PUCC's influence was substantial," Purdy said of the officers' elections. "PUCC did, despite the lack of an effort to organize, vote as a block. I hope that is indicative of what we can do."

According to first-year council member and PUCC candidate Joe A. Sena '99, the council's Freshman Caucus was remarkably united in opinion before the elections.

"The Freshman Caucus met before the elections and we passed around an anonymous sheet to see who everybody was voting for. Support was very strong for Rob [Hyman] and [vice-presidential candidate Elizabeth A. Haynes '98]. I don't know who everybody voted for in the end," Sena said.

Over all, the candidates who did not look like they were playing politics got the first-year vote, Sena said, explaining that caucus members were looking for candidates who broke the stereotype of council members.

In past years, the council has been criticized because of low voter turnout, lack of relevance to student life and lack of popular elections for council officers. This spring, the president and vice president will be elected in a campus-wide vote.

Both Hyman and Blais took significant steps in their campaigning and position papers to reach out to PUCC members who called for a more relevant council.

In a PUCC questionnaire sent to presidential candidates, Hyman answered virtually all of the questions in accordance with PUCC views, saying the council should work toward guarantees of financial aid, core reform and an ethnic studies committee.

While Hyman said he is in agreement with PUCC's general principles, he stressed his status as an independent who is not officially tied to PUCC in any way.

"I would say I have worked closely with PUCC members and leaders both off and on the council, and I have agreed and disagreed with individual members, but I support the overall goal of increased representations and student input with the administration," Hyman said.

"I am an independent and I strongly believe that rather than anything else the president should be a collaborator and include as many members of the council as possible," Hyman added.

Blais also staked out middle ground, saying in his campaigning that he tried to reach out to as many council members as possible, taking special steps to meet first-years and those who had not been on the council before.

"I think I had a great deal of support from freshmen and PUCC as well as from returning council members," Blais said. "PUCC was certainly a factor. The secretary and treasurer were PUCC candidates and Rob and I both have a great deal of PUCC support."

What Next?

After what PUCC leaders call a resounding victory, many council members say they are waiting to see how successful PUCC will be in passing its legislative agenda.

Feeney said he believes the influence of PUCC will wane as first-year members come into their own as council members.

"They're gonna be a helluva lot less important on issues than on the elections," Feeney predicted. "They have three of the four executive officers who are clearly PUCC members, but as the semester goes on, the first-years are going to get their own opinions of how PUCC is running the council, and [PUCC is] not going to be able to pass legislation a effectively."

The possibility of PUCC becoming a regular voting block could be detrimental to the council, Coffey warned.

"The only danger of a voting block is if they pretend they are not," Coffey said. "If there are 38 of them that are going to show up at every meeting, that's going to be a majority a lot of the time. I don't want the illusion of debating on the floor when everything has been decided behind the scenes."

Whether or not a voting block develops, PUCC must now determine its character as an alliance, Coffey said.

"It has the potential to be a political group on the council or a force to motivate students. I hope it's the latter," he said.

Several council members and former officers said they are concerned by the collective lack of experience among the new executives.

While Coffey said Hyman and Blais are good leaders, he said he hopes the council will continue to call on the experience of its more senior members.

"What will make the difference is if Jon, [outgoing vice-president Justin P. Label '97] and myself really help out a lot behind the scenes," Coffey said. "I hope we don't neglect the 20-some experienced members who know how to work with the [College] administration and know what it's like to spend three hours on the council every Sunday night.

Coffey warned new members not to neglect more experienced council members.

"If that group feels downtrodden, that's not a good thing," he added.

But Blais said he felt the lack of experience on the executive board will not strongly affect the council.

"Rob and I know how the council works, and we will have experienced committee chairs," Blais said. "Besides, everybody focuses on the executive board, but it really doesn't have that much power. The worst thing we can do is hold something off the docket for a week."

Label, a defeated presidential candidate, said he foresaw more dire consequences for the inexperienced officers.

"As much as the old guard is despised, we know how things are supposed to run," Label said. "They run that way for a reason."

"Even at [Sunday's] meeting there was a great deal of parliamentary confusion," he added, citing an attempt by new council members to delay a vote for the treasurer.

Purdy said he thought the lack of experience might be a problem in the short run, but that PUCC should be able to work through it.

"Some of PUCC's members have a great deal of council experience and knowledge of parliamentary procedure," Purdy said. "I hope they will serve as a model for PUCC representatives. I find it difficult to imagine it will remain a serious impediment for long.

"They voted as a block," he said. "It's their right to do that, but it's exclusively politics."

PUCC organizer Jedediah S. Purdy '97 said he agreed PUCC tended to vote as a block, but members did so of their own accord. Purdy was defeated in recent council elections but maintains an important role in PUCC leadership.

"In the presidential and vice-presidential elections, while PUCC did not determine in advance to support one candidate or another, members spontaneously coalesced around one candidate or the other," Purdy said.

PUCC candidates ran on a platform of bringing change to the council, specifically giving council members a student mandate and increasing the relevance of the council on campus.

"PUCC's influence was substantial," Purdy said of the officers' elections. "PUCC did, despite the lack of an effort to organize, vote as a block. I hope that is indicative of what we can do."

According to first-year council member and PUCC candidate Joe A. Sena '99, the council's Freshman Caucus was remarkably united in opinion before the elections.

"The Freshman Caucus met before the elections and we passed around an anonymous sheet to see who everybody was voting for. Support was very strong for Rob [Hyman] and [vice-presidential candidate Elizabeth A. Haynes '98]. I don't know who everybody voted for in the end," Sena said.

Over all, the candidates who did not look like they were playing politics got the first-year vote, Sena said, explaining that caucus members were looking for candidates who broke the stereotype of council members.

In past years, the council has been criticized because of low voter turnout, lack of relevance to student life and lack of popular elections for council officers. This spring, the president and vice president will be elected in a campus-wide vote.

Both Hyman and Blais took significant steps in their campaigning and position papers to reach out to PUCC members who called for a more relevant council.

In a PUCC questionnaire sent to presidential candidates, Hyman answered virtually all of the questions in accordance with PUCC views, saying the council should work toward guarantees of financial aid, core reform and an ethnic studies committee.

While Hyman said he is in agreement with PUCC's general principles, he stressed his status as an independent who is not officially tied to PUCC in any way.

"I would say I have worked closely with PUCC members and leaders both off and on the council, and I have agreed and disagreed with individual members, but I support the overall goal of increased representations and student input with the administration," Hyman said.

"I am an independent and I strongly believe that rather than anything else the president should be a collaborator and include as many members of the council as possible," Hyman added.

Blais also staked out middle ground, saying in his campaigning that he tried to reach out to as many council members as possible, taking special steps to meet first-years and those who had not been on the council before.

"I think I had a great deal of support from freshmen and PUCC as well as from returning council members," Blais said. "PUCC was certainly a factor. The secretary and treasurer were PUCC candidates and Rob and I both have a great deal of PUCC support."

What Next?

After what PUCC leaders call a resounding victory, many council members say they are waiting to see how successful PUCC will be in passing its legislative agenda.

Feeney said he believes the influence of PUCC will wane as first-year members come into their own as council members.

"They're gonna be a helluva lot less important on issues than on the elections," Feeney predicted. "They have three of the four executive officers who are clearly PUCC members, but as the semester goes on, the first-years are going to get their own opinions of how PUCC is running the council, and [PUCC is] not going to be able to pass legislation a effectively."

The possibility of PUCC becoming a regular voting block could be detrimental to the council, Coffey warned.

"The only danger of a voting block is if they pretend they are not," Coffey said. "If there are 38 of them that are going to show up at every meeting, that's going to be a majority a lot of the time. I don't want the illusion of debating on the floor when everything has been decided behind the scenes."

Whether or not a voting block develops, PUCC must now determine its character as an alliance, Coffey said.

"It has the potential to be a political group on the council or a force to motivate students. I hope it's the latter," he said.

Several council members and former officers said they are concerned by the collective lack of experience among the new executives.

While Coffey said Hyman and Blais are good leaders, he said he hopes the council will continue to call on the experience of its more senior members.

"What will make the difference is if Jon, [outgoing vice-president Justin P. Label '97] and myself really help out a lot behind the scenes," Coffey said. "I hope we don't neglect the 20-some experienced members who know how to work with the [College] administration and know what it's like to spend three hours on the council every Sunday night.

Coffey warned new members not to neglect more experienced council members.

"If that group feels downtrodden, that's not a good thing," he added.

But Blais said he felt the lack of experience on the executive board will not strongly affect the council.

"Rob and I know how the council works, and we will have experienced committee chairs," Blais said. "Besides, everybody focuses on the executive board, but it really doesn't have that much power. The worst thing we can do is hold something off the docket for a week."

Label, a defeated presidential candidate, said he foresaw more dire consequences for the inexperienced officers.

"As much as the old guard is despised, we know how things are supposed to run," Label said. "They run that way for a reason."

"Even at [Sunday's] meeting there was a great deal of parliamentary confusion," he added, citing an attempt by new council members to delay a vote for the treasurer.

Purdy said he thought the lack of experience might be a problem in the short run, but that PUCC should be able to work through it.

"Some of PUCC's members have a great deal of council experience and knowledge of parliamentary procedure," Purdy said. "I hope they will serve as a model for PUCC representatives. I find it difficult to imagine it will remain a serious impediment for long.