punditry.ca — uncovering DSU elections

Debogorski’s platform is up on his website.  Using the same methodology as for the other candidates, I created a word cloud.  Like with Saulnier, I did not take the platform summary, I took only the platform.

His is the shortest of the three (1,055 words, just about twice as long as the summary).  The same threat to accuracy applies here.

Gregory Debogorski

• “Union” is the most common word, followed by “dalhousie”, with “dsu” making a strong appearance
• A love of the number “three”
• Lots of action words: “collect”, “promise”, “create”, “run”, “work”, “development”, “increase”
• Several words related to student input: “issues”, “referendum”, “preferences”, “questions”, possibly “information”
• Words related to being the CEO of the DSU: possibly “government”, “council”, possibly “run”, possibly “decision”.
• “prd” is his acronym for a “polling, referendum, and debate” system to solicit student input, and is clearly a notable portion of the platform

After an intense examination of candidates’ platforms, SustainDal has released their 2nd Annual Sustainability Report Card – and I’ve got permission to distribute it to the masses. The report card is more detailed than what I’ve posted here (there is a huge appendix with all the candidates’ sustainability platforms), but if you’re that interested, join SustainDal’s listserv (SustainDal [at] dal [dot] ca)!

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Have you been wondering which candidates to vote for in the DSU election if you’re concerned about environmental sustainability on campus? Well never fear, SustainDal brings you the 2^nd Annual DSU Electoral Candidate’s Sustainability Report Card! You’ll find the condensed info first, then our methods, then our reasoning, then the exact wording of each candidate’s sustainability platform from their websites.

In short, here’s who you should vote for if environmental sustainability is your key issue

President: Neil Bailey

VP (Internal): Kayla Kurin

VP (Education): Rob Leforte

Undergraduate Senate Rep: Carly Nicholson, Maggie Lovett and Ben Wedge

Here’s what you need to know about our choices:

• Ranking is based ONLY on information collected from each candidate’s platform on their website or Facebook group on Thursday, March 18th. This was the only way we could objectively collect information about candidates. We also feel that if sustainability is truly a priority for the candidate, they will mention it in their platform.
• Comments about sustainability made in conversations, debates or on blog posts that were not part of the official platform were not included. Several candidates expressed their desire to address sustainability issues either in conversations or at the three debates. However we have chosen to compare platform content alone as it is the only way to impartially rank the candidates.
• This report card is for environmental sustainability alone and does not rank any other topic that may be important to you when choosing a candidate.
• For one of the VP (Student Life) portfolio there is only one candidate since these candidate will win regardless of their sustainability platform, we have not ranked them.
• The information from platforms was compiled, the names of the candidates were removed and an impartial but knowledgeable SustainDal executive ranked the platform points according the extent to which candidates addressed specific issues that are important to the campus sustainability movement or addressed sustainability in some way.
• We encourage you to use the last day of campaigning (Friday March 19^th until 8pm) to educate yourself about each candidate’s entire platform. Go to www.dsuelections.ca for info on all candidates or go to their personal websites (listed in the Appendix) .

Here’s our Reasoning

President: This was a VERY close race between Neil Bailey and Chris Saulnier, both have really great ideas and Neil only won by a small margin. We chose Neil because he understands the core issues around sustainability and has a broad vision for how it can work for the DSU. This is not to discredit Chris Saulnier who has a detailed knowledge about the operations of the Dalhousie Student Union Sustainability Office and specific actions listed out in his platform. Ultimately, we felt that Neil can tackle the root of the problems plaguing the DSU when it comes to Sustainability. Both are great, you’ll have to look at non-sustainability-related platform points to make your decision on this one. Greg Debogorski has a single point about making food healthier and cheaper which is great but is only one item on the long list of eco issues plaguing the SUB and the DSU.

VP (Internal): Once again this was an extremely close decision. We chose Kayla Kurin because we feel she understands how her role has VPI can work into the greater goal of sustainability within the union. Glenn Blake has some great ideas around starting a student-run food co-op would contribute directly to the sustainability (i.e. footprint, community engagement) of the union however does not mention any other sustainability related issues.. We love Kayla’s idea for a society sustainability handbook and the shift to a more online format to reduce paper consumption

VP (Education): Seriously VP Education Candidates you could at least try! Our vote goes to Rob LeForte as he was the only candidate in this race to even really mention sustainability. There are lots of ways to integrate sustainability into academic issues. How about supporting the work of the College of Sustainability or lobbying faculty to reduce paper consumption” (I’m pretty sure these both fall under the portfolio)

Undergraduate Senate Rep: We chose, Maggie Lovett, Ben Wedge and Carly Nicholson. Maggie is sure to be an advocate for student concerns relating to sustainability on campus and is committed to raising the issues at higher levels of the university. Ben Wedge lists off some great ideas of how he has made his own life more sustainable (though they are low-hanging fruit at best). Carly Nicholson rounds out our choices, her platform only talks about sustainability in terms of the campus Master Plan though she does seem to have some good ideas for what the future of the campus might look like.

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Good afternoon, everyone!  Today we will have the Presidential Debate in the Grawood, starting at 3pm.  Candidates Neil Bailey, Gregory Debogorski and Chris Saulnier will square off in the ultimate battle for dominance.  Who will emerge on top?  Who will make the most compelling case to be the next Chief Executive Officer of our Union?  Who will be thrown off entirely by Debogorski’s excessive quantities of coffee on stage?  You’ll find the answers to these questions (and more!) below during our ongoing coverage of the debate!

It’s currently 2:58, though it looks like we might be starting a little late.

Current President Shannon Zimmerman, who will be moderating the debate, has called the candidates up to the stage at 3:11.

Saulnier and Bailey have arrived.  Still no sign of Debogorski (other than an impressive impersonation by one Kris Osmond).  Stocking up on coffee, perhaps?

Bailey says “We’re still waiting for Greg to show up.  Please stay away from the windows, as he may repel into them.”  A valid concern, well taken.

Zimmerman is announcing that today is the CRO’s birthday.  The Grawood sings a glorious round of Happy Birthday! =)

Zimmerman has opted to begin the debate without Greg, as it is now 15 minutes after the hour.  She is announcing the format.

She will be the moderator.  There will be 2 minute opening statements, alphabetically by last name.  2 minutes per question, plus an opportunity for a 30 second rebuttal.  Response order will alternate.

Elections committee members will hold up signs indicating the amount of time remaining.

And awaaaay weee gooo!

Read more…

Don’t forget that the Presidential Debate is taking place today at 3pm in the Grawood.  Be there or be a rectangular prism.

Rather than anything concrete, which I haven’t had an opportunity to put together, I’ve decided to compile a list of scandals and general thoughts based on my own experiences with the race.  This is the beginning of what I hope will become several conversations in the comments.  Later on, I hope to tackle the Senate race, some platform analysis and coverage of the Presidential Debate.  However, this will have to do in the meantime.

Most of what I have to say is in regard to the Vice President (Internal) race, which by several accounts is turning into a petty bicker-fest.  However, there are also notes on candidate campaign styles, Check it out below.

Read more…

Hey everyone!  Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the Sexton Debate, and the lack of posts have suggested that my fellow pundits couldn’t either.  If anyone can fill us in on what went down, please let us know in the comments.  Thanks!

Don’t worry, there will be coverage of the Presidential Debate.