Above photo: Kaeden Kelso, presidential candidate, and Ysatis Jordan, vice presidential candidate will run unopposed in the spring 2018 election. Courtesy of Ysatis Jordan
By Emily Wunderlich and Whitney Elfstrom
Less than one day into presidential campaigning for the Student Government spring elections, a grievance was filed Monday against presidential candidate Kaeden Kelso and his running mate Ysatis Jordan.
In an email to Shannon Scanlon, SG’s supervisor of elections, Michael Hanlon, former SG director of external affairs, alleged that Kelso and Jordan violated two campaign rules that prohibit the use of “likeness of University figurehead, administrator, or celebrity without written consent in campaign materials as an official endorsement” and “student government and university logos or trademarks.”
With Mariah McQueen disqualified from the race, Kelso and Jordan will run unopposed. The duo needs at least 50 percent approval plus one vote on a yes or no ballot to get elected.
The source cited three pieces of photographic evidence of Kelso and Jordan posing next to “Cheryl the Bull,” as well as the official Bulls’ logo.
The photo of “Cheryl” was posted on the duo’s campaign Instagram and Facebook page Monday.
According to Jordan, the photo did not violate any rules as “Cheryl” is not recognized as an official USF St. Petersburg statue, because it does not have an official name and it is not recognized by the administration.
She also said that the bull was paid for by the 2012-2013 Student Government Association, therefore, it was funded by Activities and Service fees. Under the SG rules “A&S funded services can be used for the purpose of campaigning in Student Government/campus elections.”
Jordan also said the photo of the two candidates posing with the Bulls’ logo was posted on Kelso’s personal Facebook page and was not used in the campaign process. Kelso said that the photo was a “cute photo” of the duo that he wanted to use as his Facebook header photo but he has since removed it.
In an email to The Crow’s Nest, Hanlon said he filed the allegation to ensure the “election cycle will remain honest and not turn into a damaging scandal for the student government.”
“In Student Government, one of the things that we try to hold ourselves accountable to is we always try to assume positive intent,” Kelso said. “I’m going to believe that that’s what it was unless further evidence shows that it wasn’t.”
According to Kelso, Hanlon recruited him to run as his vice president in late October. However, Kelso declined and decided to run with Jordan in November.
According to the SG rules, the election rules commission may assess two points on a campaign ticket for a minor violation and 10 points for a major violation.
The alleged offenses are considered minor violations of the rules.
If a campaign ticket accumulates 10 points, the commission can vote to disqualify the candidates.
The commission will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, to decide whether or not Kelso and Jordan violated campaign rules.
This article was updated at 9:11 p.m. on Feb. 20 to include responses from Ysatis Jordan and Kaeden Kelso. Also, an earlier version of this article named Michael Hanlon as an anonymous source, but the grievance was filed under his name.
