punditry.ca — uncovering DSU elections

First thing’s first: Congratulations to Shannon, Mark, Rob, Kris, Janet, Adam, Meredith, Shane, and Glenn, and thanks to all of the candidates for putting so much time and effort into your campaigns and keeping me entertained.

This being my seventh and final DSU Election as a student, I thought I’d compile a personal highlight reel of the past eleven days. Two photos from last night’s results party festivities serve as bookends to this entry.

The Ghost of Executives Past makes an appearance at the 2009 DSU Election Results Party at the Grawood

- Hobbes sticking up for Jennex at the Studley debate: I didn’t really know Mark before this campaign, but he proved himself to be a stand-up guy when he could have taken advantage of his opponent being attacked. Both Mark and Craig ran strong campaigns, which was reflected in the 35-vote difference in the final results.

- I’m still not entirely comfortable with the way NSPIRG became a campaign issue, and, in particular, the way the debate was focused on the presidential race, but it deserves mention given the amount of attention it is getting. I’ll be writing more about this matter in the coming days as The AGM: Part II approaches.

- Janet Conrad’s candidate profile photo: I’ve watched enough America’s Next Top Model to identify when someone knows how to use their angles and find the light source.

- My buddy Eric Snow went from rule-maker to rule-breaker by racking up some post-campaigning fines.

- The Evolution of Debo: Is it just me, or is Greg getting a bit better with each election? Sure, he still has inappropriate outbursts and does silly things like drink five large teas during a debate, but every once in a while when you get past his demeanour, you find a reasonable idea. This seems to be happening more frequently these days. I must say, even though he would lump me in with the DSU “in crowd”, I appreciate what Greg is trying to do and that he has a genuine interest in getting people engaged with what goes on at the DSU. I might not agree with all of his ideas, but I’ve got to admit, campaigns would be a lot less interesting if he weren’t running.

- Shannon’s closing remarks at the Presidential debate are a perfect example of why I supported her campaign. Without any prepared notes, she spoke of the significance of this campaign for her, and of her love for the DSU and for Dalhousie. It was obviously genuine and indicative of why she’s well-suited to be President. Her passion for the DSU is contagious, which is something we need from our Executive if we have any hope of sparking interest in what we do. I anxiously await the DVD release of the debate so I can provide
a transcript of her remarks.

Some post-results dancing at Reflections with these fools (photo: John Hurley)

I’m not quite as brave as John or Lisa, so I won’t publicly wade into the bare-knuckled rumble that is the Snow-Zimmerman presidential race. I would, however, like to offer my opinion on one of the races a little further down the ballot.

The Board of Governors positions require a unique skillset. The best candidates have a good understanding of university procedure and politics, thorough knowledge of post-secondary education policy, and an ability to work with and sometimes oppose administrators and board members who are used to getting their way.

Adam Harris has these skills in spades. During his time as President of the St. FX student union, he and I often discussed strategies for working with our respective boards and administrations and we worked closely on a wide range of education issues including the MOU and the tuition reductions. I was always impressed with his knowledge and abilities.

This photo is from a meeting at a restaurant in Truro where Adam and I and ANSSA vice chair Marc Rodrigue got a commitment from (now former) Education Minister Karen Casey to conduct Nova Scotia’s first review of student financial aid, something that the government followed through on and which led to the creation of the province’s only general need-based grant system.

Adam knows how to get things done and he’s been a passionate voice for student issues. I’m glad that he chose to come to Dal for medical school (hopefully renouncing X forever) and I’m very glad he chose to throw his hat in the ring for this position.

Vote early and vote often. Harris for BoG.

Here we go. This is a long one, folks. You might want to get some popcorn and settle in. Rather than save the audience questions for the end of the post, I’ve just lumped them in under each position for ease of reading. I did have to leave a few minutes early, so I missed the last couple of audience questions. Also, I apologize in advance for any sentence fragments, and I have put some of my comments in italics to ensure they are not mixed up with candidate comments.

President

For openers, Snow thanked everyone for attending, mentioned his experience with Senate and HSA, 24-hour study space and food service, and his website. Zimmerman thanked the organizers of the debate, referred to the SUB as her first home rather than her second, and mentioned her experience on Council, BoG, and student societies.

For the first question, candidates were asked to describe their leadership qualifications. Zimmerman said that she has had lots of involvement on all campuses. She feels BoG is the most important role of the President outside the SUB and has experience as current BoG representative. She also feels it is important not to talk only to students, but also to societies, deans, etc. Snow told us he knows the rules and procedures (even wrote some). He knows President is not an all-powerful role and believes there should be consultation beyond Council (athletics, residences, etc.) He wants to get students involved as much as possible and believes the more students that are involved, the better. Zimmerman said she believes in talking to students more than in policies and procedures. She believes in talking to people in all outlets in campus. Snow agrees with consulting with students but said one must understand the procedures for doing this (i.e. know who to go to on various issues).

I must say I’m a little confused by Snow on this one. I understand that one might need to know how certain networks are structured to find the most efficient way of addressing and issue, but in terms of direct consultation with students, I don’t believe we need to refer to any policy.

Question two was about media attention. Is it good or bad? How will they present the image of the DSU? Snow said he’s no stranger to media and isn’t shy to speak to crowds. He sees media attention as a double-edged sword (Everyone wants a piece of you, eh Eric?) He is looking into getting official media training. Here, Zimmerman made her first of a couple references to the Executive Team. She would consult with other members of the Executive because they should be working together on representations to media. She believes media should be used to educate and give background on issues facing the Union, and that the Exec should resume weekly interviews with CKDU that started and stopped at some point this year. She would endeavour to have student consultation before speaking to media. While Snow agrees on consultation with Exec, he pointed out that the President takes responsibility, as official spokesperson, for what is said. Zimmerman also raised the fact that the DSU has a General Manager and Communications Coordinator whose strategic capabilities can help executive who are new to interacting with media.

Question three was about the strategic plan/Imagine DSU. Candidates were asked what was the most pressing issue students raised this year during Imagine. They were also asked about the future of Imagine. Zimmerman mentioned the campus master plan, 24-hour study space, and local food service. She feels it was a good idea to have a full-on campaign this year rather than a single event, but feels the process has lost momentum. She thinks the process should start at the beginning of the year, rather than waiting until the Winter term to have consultations. Snow agreed that students raised 24-hour study space and the master plan, but feels local food on campus was the biggest issue. He wants more comment cards near services in order to find out how to pursue student interests.

In closing, Zimmerman plugged her website and said her name twice in addition to her URL. Snow plugged his Website and five campaign points, saying his name once in addition to his URL. Someone’s taking my advice.

Check out the rest of the recap after the jump.

Read more…

Lisa, John and I were all at the Studley debate today.  I think Lisa’s going to do a full recap, so I’ll just stick with a few of my “friendly observations.”

President:

Only Snow and Zimmerman showed up.  Debo made a cameo during the VP Education portion of the programme, but had left by the general question period.  I’m sure he had a class.  I’m also sure half of the other candidates also had a class…but I digress.

Snow isn’t confident at the podium, Zimmerman looks relaxed and at ease.   Zimmerman doesn’t have awesome voice modulation, Snow is an engaging speaker.  They both need to work on their eye contact.

They both answered questions well, but let’s face it, this is for all the marbles, they aren’t going to screw it up.

VP Internal:

Can we just elect them both?  They are so committed and really know their stuff.  I am concerned/confused about Mark’s plan to have a DSU website that can be updated by anyone.   There’s info on his website about how we could do this. I have no question that it *can* be done, I’m just not sure we *should* do it.   Mark did, however, show that he was a class act when he stood up for his opponent in the face of attack.  Bravo.

VP Education:

I’m surprised how much Burns knows for being a newbie to the scene (he’s so young looking I feel like if I got close enough, he’d smell like womb).  LeForte demonstrated that he knows both a whole lot about the intricacies of PSE funding and also how to tie a double windsor knot.  I approve of both.   Once again CASA is a hot topic.  Burns says we should drop down to associate member status.  He hasn’t given me a good reason why.

VP Student Life:

Kris is running unopposed.  Like John, I say if he wants the job again, we should give it to him.

Senate:

Best.  Race.  Ever.  Between Simms’s quirkiness, Evans’s adorable/genuineness and Blake’s general smile inducingness, this is by far the best group to listen to.   Big points to everyone for reading up on the Academic and External committee and coming to class knowing the answer. Extra points to Simms for picking up the microphone so that he didn’t have to slouch at the podium (Snow, Burns et al. take note!)

Board of Governors:

Why aren’t these people running the country?  They’re all so well-qualified and eloquent it makes me a little queasy.  Give me something to nitpick about, people!

Harris has commented many a time about how he was the President of “another institution” and he used to live in Antigonish…people can put two and two together Harris, why not just tell them that magical institution was St. FX?  Also, would it kill FPW or Horne to smile?  I know BoG is all serious and stuff, but come on.  Look at that, I totally found stuff to talk about.  Crisis averted.

There were general questions from the audience (which was quite full, actually.  Nice one) but I only half paid attention.  Bad pundit.  Lisa took better notes than I did.

I’ll be away tonight, as it is my girlfriend’s birthday, but let me just say that if this whole student politics thing doesn’t work out, the Board of Governors candidates could always take the Halifax music scene by storm as the next big indie band. 

Tell me you can’t see this as a Gazette cover.

I ventured into the SUB at around 1:00 this afternoon on my way to the DalOUT office. I was there until 3:00 and I didn’t even make it to the staircase. I sat down on one of the couches to have a gander at what the candidates came up with for their posters. Within mere moments, I was chatting with Matt Golding [current VP (Finance & Operations)] about the posters and the upcoming DSU Annual General Meeting, which, incidentally, should make this week an even bigger shit-show than it is normally. Following Matt’s visit, I had sightings of and, in a few cases, full-on conversations with Snow, Zimmerman, Debogorski, Jennex, LeForte, Burns, fellow pundits Coffin and shutter-bug Hillman, and CRO Amyotte.

My advice to pundits and others interested in talking to or overhearing candidates: Hang out in the SUB lobby. I swear, there is some sort of homing signal.

My advice to candidates: For your own health and well-being, stay out of the SUB! Unless you’re using the time to talk to people who don’t already know you, it will just wear on you. Also, don’t think that being overly nice to the pundits will get you into our good graces. What will get you into my good graces is permission to cut you to pieces with wit (thanks, Craig).

On that note…

This year’s posters, some of which require a more dedicated viewing than I alloted them today, are what I would call generally adequate. Snow has re-used his photo from last year’s Senate campaign (fine, I guess, since his physical appearance hasn’t changed drastically). Zimmerman’s is clean and simple. Debogorski’s manifesto is much more succinct than last year’s, and has far fewer grammatical errors, but a whopping three mentions of food service. Also, I was left with the distinct impression that I, as what others would deem a “DSU Insider”, apparently “rule” the DSU. To which I ask, “Where’s my coronation?!”

On the BoG front, Harris and Rai opted for the “too much information” approach. Both have posters littered with photos, words and graphs (of all things). Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered to get up from the couch in order to get close enough to read them. That will have to wait until tomorrow. Conrad, FPW, and Horne are relying more on their good looks, which is valid given that it’s BoG, so a higher percentage of people will likely vote on a “(s)he’s hot” basis, and all three are good-looking. Honestly, ever since FPW wore his job interview suit to a Council meeting, the girls have been crazy for him. The general response to his poster, however, is the question, “Is he Spanish?” (Answer: He is not) given the red-yellow-red horizontal stripes. Worldly as he is, Fred is aware of the resemblance and explained to me that, as I suspected, he was just going for two colours that attract the eye, and he has succeeded in that regard.

Hobbs’ and Simms’ posters use a similar distillation/contrast(?) (some photo editing technique for which I’m sure I don’t know the correct term). Jennex highlights, through pictures, his “in the field” involvement with the Union.

I think we’re in for an interesting and entertaining week, folks. I look forward to reading the comments of my fellow pundits and our gentle readers.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

I can’t tell you all how excited I am to be part of such a stellar team of DSU pundits. This really brings election geekery to a whole new level and I love it.

The official list of candidates has some familiar faces and some ones that this old hack doesn’t recognize. Mike gave a good overview, so I won’t rehash it all but just a few more thoughts.

Debo is back! Man, you have to admire that guy’s tenacity. He recently found my blog post from two elections ago where I inquired as to whether his youtube video was encouraging me to vote for him or let him out on a day pass. I also asked him to stop his ill planned act of shit disturbing. His response was thus:

I was just browsing the internet; after hearing rumours from a colleague of this post I cannot help but giggle on discovering it. I find your abrasive comment quite humorous in the context of current affairs within the DSU. I love it when personal aversion of the truth leads people to hatred of those whom promote it.
If I could procure “a day pass” for the entire Union to egress from the administrative insanity occurring within our Union I would.
Criticizing our Union for disenfranchising students and providing good times for the DSU “in crowd” never equates to an “annoying act of ill planned shit disturbing.”
I can only hope that the author of this post will revisit their opinions when considering future political activities and comments.
The Union should operate under the following principle:
Each according to their need; each according to their work!!!
I shall leave up to the reader to interpret its meaning.

I no longer think Debo is an ill planned shit disturber. I think he genuinely cares about students and the union. I do not, however, think he has a clue about the big picture or how to actually, realistically go about serving students. Regardless, his addition to the field should make for some fantastic entertainment.

The VP Education field (one that is close to my heart) only has one candidate I recognize, LeForte. From what I know of him, he seems genuinely interested in the issues and has kept very well abreast of the PSE goings on, even before the election started. He has on occasion asked me questions that have left me stumped and needing to do some research. This is a good thing. I hope to be able to form an opinion on Burns soon.

Internal is also one where my knowledge of candidates is lopsided. I have worked with Jennex on various projects and know him to be very dedicated, organized and good at what he does. He also has a very good grasp on union goings on, which comes from being an employee for the past couple of years. I don’t know anything about Hobbs except that he was the communications commissioner, which is a good start (for him, not me…well I suppose me too). We shall see how this one unfolds.

When did a BoG seat become the new hot item?! Whatever it was that sparked this little trend, I’m glad of it. The field is also amazingly solid. Conrad is a familiar face around the council table and has always impressed me with her maturity and her zealousness in advocating for the students on Sexton. Rai has been very committed to the Dal Debate Society, Sodales, and as a result became very involved during the society review overhaul. Harris is a med student who was the President of the St. FX Student Union in his previous life. He thus already has a lot experience in this type of role, especially coming from X where their union has a very close working relationship with the administration. Welch is the current law rep on the DSU and on the Law Student Society Board. Anyone who has had to work with the law school administration will find the university’s administration a cake walk. I sadly know nothing about Horne.

Senate is yes/no this year. Sad making. I have worked with Evans, she is solid. Like Mike says, though, unless someone unleashes the crazy this will be a bit of a yawn race.

I’ll update my bio soon, so you all know who the crazy ranting lady is.