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)

7:25 -

I may be speaking too soon but Debogorski is on fire. He’s personable, funny, and operating with seventy percent less fury than last year. I haven’t seen a single fist pound, and I’ve actually nodded my head a few times.

He has the audience engaged – this is the first interesting presidential debate we’ve had this year.

Where was this Debogorski at the debates all week long?

7:38 -

The first question regarding NSPIRG. Shannon is passionate about staying neutral on the NSPIRG issue, Eric had a spark of life reiterating his position, and Greg just suggested that NSPIRG and Anti-NSPIRG partisans forced be locked in a room to box each other. A preview of April 1st, perhaps?

7:42 –

Victoria Jones proves she can grill candidates from the other side of the country. I’m having nightmares of seeing her walk up to the mike last year.

8:14 –

Greg wants to know what other candidates will do to stop war from breaking out between Muslim and Jewish students. Eric and Shannon look very awkward. Greg clarifies that he is neither Jewish or Muslim, and then answers his own question, though I missed his answer. I’m sure it was entertaining.

On another note, shouldn’t they all be fined for campaigning past 8:00 pm?

8:30 -

It’s done: the debate, and the whole campaigning period. Candidates have 15 minutes to take down their websites, and my advice is run, Eric, run!

I have some video clips, but the Elections staff were filming the whole thing, so I’m sure that they’ll have theirs up before mine.

Congratulations Eric, Shannon, and Greg! Congratulations everyone, for that matter!

Having read Lisa’s recent endorsement of Shannon, I figure that I might as well offer my thoughts as well. Though we entered Dalhousie at roughly the same time (she in ’02, and I in ’03), I think that it is fair to say that Lisa and I are coming from opposite ends of the DSU spectrum. She has the perspective of the ultimate insider, while I am something of an informed outsider. As such, I think that we can each offer readers points of view worth considering on the path to making their own personal decisions as to who would best lead the union.

After much deliberation over the last week, I’ve come to the decision that I will be voting Eric Snow for DSU president. I’ve had my suspicions for some time that this would likely be the case, but his decisive actions over the last twenty-four hours have sealed the deal, so to speak. I’ll elaborate, and I’ll even keep the butterfly related jokes to a minimum.

There’s no question as to whether Eric is technically qualified for the job – he is a ridiculously experienced brainiac who knows the constitution inside out and upside down. When I first began covering council meetings so that I could write DSU related articles for the Gazette, everyone pointed me in Eric’s direction whenever I had questions about the technical details of a particular debate or issue.  Often I would send him a seemingly innocuous question, only to get back an astoundingly thorough reply that answered not only the initial question, but every conceivable follow up. Eric is the kind of guy who takes the time to read and actively question every document that passes before him, no matter how trivial or important.  It is also worth mentioning that he never once asked me to put in a good word for him in any of my articles, or even acknowledge the invaluable help he provided. He was always just happy to do his part to help others access the often-impenetrable world of DSU insider politics.

Eric’s eagerness to involve outsiders in the DSU political process has always impressed me.  From the moment I first started asking him questions about council and its related issues, Eric encouraged my interest at every turn. At one point he even convinced me to serve as an ANSSA student ambassador, convincing me that the position was meant for new faces, and that an outsider’s perspective would provide exactly the sort of fresh feedback that ANSSA was looking for. He also correctly suggested that by attending the conference, I would gain a better understanding of the issues facing students, and would thus be able to do a better job of bridging the gap between the readers of my articles and their representatives. I’ve always harped on about the fact that DSU politicians need to reach out to the student population in an active way, rather than passively waiting around for the students to come to them. Eric has demonstrated that he has both the will to do so, and the understanding of how to go about it.

What has impressed me most about Eric, however, is his willingness to stick his neck out and do what is right. His behaviour over the last few days has only confirmed the impression that I’ve had of him since the first night I sat in on a council meeting. Eric is the kind of guy who makes his opinions absolutely clear when he spots a problem with something, and with his keen attention to detail, it is impossible to slip anything past him. He asks the tough questions, even when fellow councillors shoot him daggers for drawing out council meetings, and if something isn’t up to code it will not get his vote.  If Carleton University’s student union had an Eric Snow on their council, that whole Shinearama disaster during the fall semester never would have gotten off the ground.

Over the last few days Eric has come out with clear and typically honest policy statements on the NSPIRG issue, knowingly making himself a target – even a focal point – for hatred. He did this in the middle of an election campaign…unilaterally. How many other legitimate DSU presidential candidates in recent years have dared to take such a potentially controversial stand on a hot-button issue? Eric broke the mould because that is just the way he is – if he sees a problem, he is compelled to set it right, and if that means pissing off those who are somehow acting in a manner contrary the best interests of students, then so be it.

None of this is to suggest anything ill of the other two candidates.  Greg has run a surprisingly strong campaign this year (aside from slandering potential voters at the AGM), and Shannon is both personable and as ridiculously qualified as Eric in most technical respects. I’m not joining “Team Snow” anytime soon, you won’t see me sporting one of those blue snowflake shirts at the debate tomorrow night, and I won’t give him a free pass if he says or does anything worth mocking over the next few days.  That said, I will be voting for him (unless he transforms into Sauron at the podium during the presidential debate tonight – and even still, that would be pretty cool,) and I thought that perhaps detailing my thought process would make an interesting counterbalance to Lisa’s perspective on Shannon.

In conclusion…let the Hillman bump ensue.

Busy day, compared to every other campaign Sunday I’ve ever seen.  8 posts on punditry.ca today, not counting this one, so remember to scroll down and read if you haven’t yet…

• Tomorrow is the last day of campaigning; elections materials come down at 8pm.  Get your fill of candidate websites now, there will be a quiz at the end of the ballot.  
  

  Rob LeForte's kittens endorse his candidacy.

• Today was a day of endorsements.  SustainDal endorsed Snow, Hobbs, LeForte, Horne, and Perron-Welch; the Dalhousie-Kings Conservatives apparently endorsed Snow and Hobbs; and Lisa endorsed Zimmerman.  (Also LeForte’s kittens endorsed him.)

• A few surprises there – I would have thought Janet Conrad was a shoo-in for a SustainDal endorsement given her DSUSO credentials, but I guess not.  I had a chuckle at her “it’s not true until it’s on the internet” comment (I paraphrased).  I understand the necessity of examining only those thing candidates put into writing, though I agree it is unfortunate.  DKC stopped after Snow and Hobbs; were the rest of the candidates simply unacceptable?  It’s not like Snow and Hobbs are chugging the Conservative kool-aid.  If it’s about NSPIRG, why didn’t Rai get the nod as well?

• I suspect we will see more endorsements – the JSA usually issues a set, and sometimes A-level societies do as well.  Obviously if you hear of any, let us know.

• Zimmerman joined Snow in calling for an NSPIRG referendum, but it seems she put a bit of distance between her position and his other points.  This news broke during the punditry.ca debate and was posted to her blog.

• punditry.ca hosted the first ever DSU online debate.  I think it went well; though the medium is far from perfect, it has some advantages including the availability of a full transcript.  Thanks to the candidates for adapting well to the software used.  Debogorski couldn’t make it, but I posted his answers to some of the questions.

• Speaking personally, running the debate was a challenge: the technical set up took a while but I did it at my own pace.  For the 2 hours of the debate itself, in addition to moderating the discussion I was carrying on up to 10-15 conversations with people who wanted to ask questions and killing off unruly users (no calling the cops in this house, I /kill first and ask questions later).

• I had an amusing conversation earlier.  Someone sent me a note saying that SustainDal had issued endorsements.  This was news, so I fired up the old web browser to verify the story and post it to punditry.ca.  ”Where did you hear this news?” I asked.  ”… on your site,” came the response.  Heh.  Thanks Mark Coffin for staying on top of these things.

• The Gazette has added two web-only articles, one on the Studley forum and the other on the AGM.

• Glenn Blake promised in a forum that as Senator, he’ll keep us up to date with a blog about the Dal Senate.  That blog has now been created, and he promises to update following the election.

• Janet Conrad has updated her blog and Facebook group with more details about her run at BoG.

• The Facebook group explaining Eric Snow’s position on NSPIRG is seeing some actual conversation, but is hard to find if you don’t know where it is.

• Other candidates with website updates include Horne, Snow, Jennex.

• On the lighter side, the comparison of candidate photos to PM photos was good for a laugh.

• Say what you want about STOP NSPIRG, they’ve done a great job at making their issue a central issue of this election.  Their website includes the statements from the two presidential candidates as well as an amusing list of other things you can do with $4.

• On the other side of the debate, NSPIRG invites you to join them on March 3rd to discuss the corporatization of campus, and to organize efforts to combat this.

• 5000 page views from 700 unique visitors.

Edit from Mike S: Rob LeForte sends the following:

I have known Shannon Zimmerman since her first day at Dalhousie when she moved into Newcombe House in Shirreff Hall. I was on Residence Council and one of Shannon’s Orientation leaders. Shannon was one of those Frosh who stand out in a leader’s memory. She took part in everything, obviously anxious to soak up her Dalhousie experience. Shannon began to make her presence known at Dalhousie as soon as she arrived. In her first year she joined Residence Council as a floor rep and was appointed First-Year Member at Large on DSU Council. I won’t recite her resume here, but as you know, that was just the beginning.

She has come to know not just the Union, but the University inside and out. She has developed invaluable networks within the University administration, and I don’t doubt she has earned a great deal of respect from those with whom she has worked as a member of the Board of Governors. In the SUB, Shannon has already developed positive relationships with those who work in the building. I have witnessed first-hand, whether full-time staff, servers in the Grawood, or the Dalhousie custodial and maintenance staff, the people Shannon will work with every day as President are always happy to see her.

Shannon’s enthusiasm and passion for the DSU and Dalhousie is nothing short of infectious. I was humbled to receive the Lilly Ju Lifetime Achievement Award from Shannon because she has been such an inspiration to me since her arrival. She approaches issues with a critical eye, always keeping in mind the best interests of students. She is organized, professional, and a joy to work with. This will make her a great asset to the DSU Executive team.

Shannon Zimmerman is an exceptional person who will make an exceptional DSU President, and I will be honoured to vote for her this week.

[Please Note: As I have been registered as an official agent on Shannon's campaign, this endorsement will be removed by 8:00pm on Monday in accordance with campaign rules.]

The DKC has come out in support of Eric Snow for president. Presumably, this is because of yesterday’s posting of his opinions on NSPIRG.

In other news, after being pushed further for his thoughts on NSPIRG, Eric has gone even further to say that he will “revisit” the current situation surrounding NSPIRG’s office space in the SUB.