Two weeks have passed since the Student Government elections, but a student body president has yet to be named.
Preliminary results, which put Mark Lombardi-Nelson and Christa Hegedus ahead of Jimmy Richards and Jordan Iuliucci by more than 100 votes, were suspended due to violations of campaign rules and the election procedure itself. SG Supreme Court Chief Justice Sean Ericson issued the suspension before elections ended.
The Election Rules Commission, headed by Vincent de Cosmo, filed grievance reports assessing points to the candidates for each rule broken during their campaigns. The Lombardi-Nelson/Hegedus ticket was assessed 10 points — enough to get them disqualified.
The grievance reports were filed on March 7, three hours after the election ended. Lombardi-Nelson asserted that the points were invalid because rules state they must be given while the election is ongoing. Lombardi-Nelson and Hegedus were not formally notified of their disqualification until the next day.
According to the rules of procedure, candidates must be notified of their violations before receiving points so they have time to issue statements. They should also have had the opportunity to discuss their violations with the entire Election Rules Commission, but were only able to speak with de Cosmo. There is no documentation of that discussion.
Because the election process broke multiple rules, the grievance reports for both parties were retracted on March 9, reinstating the Lombardi-Nelson and Hegedus campaign. De Cosmo said he figured he would have to retract the points due to his “malpractice” and was strongly encouraged by Matt Morrin, director of Student Life and Engagement, to do so.
On March 15, Richards, this year’s student body vice president, filed a request for a trial with the SG Supreme Court to have the points reassessed. According to Ericson, Richards will argue that regardless of the assessment process, violations did occur. If the court decides to reinstate the points and Lombardi-Nelson is once again disqualified, Richards will win the presidency by default.
The court is calling an emergency meeting on Tuesday, March 19 to set a date for a trial. The trial will not occur until at least April 2 due to a mandated 10-business day waiting period to allow the collection of evidence and appointment of witnesses.
The trial would put de Cosmo, speaking for the Election Rules Commission, against Richards, represented by SG Attorney General Paul Jones. But the court may not see much of an argument since de Cosmo said he would be in favor of the points being re-assessed.
Lombardi-Nelson and Hegedus, respectively the current SG president and senate chair, were cited for numerous violations. They included not removing flyers that offered voters 10 percent off at The Tavern in time after being asked, plagiarizing famous quotations on Facebook, using materials funded through activities and services fees to campaign and not following guidelines for T-shirts and printed materials.
“I’m sure that they will appeal it,” Richards told The Crow’s Nest after Lombardi-Nelson and Hegedus were initially disqualified. “However, I do not think that any of their points will be taken away. If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got more points.”
He said his opponents had plagiarized quotations a total of four times, and thus deserved more points.
On the same day, in an online interview, Lombardi-Nelson said he would fight the charges.
“The students have spoken, and the processes and procedures carried forward were not just,” he said. “We will fight, and we will do what is in the best interest of the students. We are staying positive because that is what we have done the entire time.”
The Richards and Iuliucci ticket was assessed two points for failing to include the title and year of the election on campaign materials.
Preliminary numbers showed the Lombardi-Nelson/Hegedus ticket received 233 votes, while the Richards/Iuliucci ticket received 125. Seventeen senators were also elected, including Thomas Hamby, Sophia Constantine, Lauren Snodgrass, Christina Johnson, Franklin Alves, Bill Milazzo, Joey Vars, Allan Pinkerton, Frank Mathis, Steven Bird, Danielle Freeman, Jozef Gherman, Deborah Guyton, Damani Harris, Taylor Adams, Cory Santero and Joey Kauderman.
The injunction postponing the announcement of all election results expires March 18. Ericson will then issue another injunction postponing only the presidential results, so senators can be officially inducted.
A constitutional amendment changing future years’ election dates also passed by a wide majority.
By Tyler Killette and Ren LaForme
Photo: Thomas Boyd, The Crow’s Nest
