Associated Students elections review—in a few

Daily Forty-Niner
Staff Reports

March 2 • The Associated Students, Inc. is gearing up for its annual spring elections. The elections will be held April 12, 13 and 14.

March 17 • Presidential candidate and Senator Morgan Wheeler saw his campaign come to an abrupt halt Wednesday night. The Elections Commission found Wheeler guilty of a "major campaign violation," saying he was "interfering with a campus event." The Commission has forbidden Wheeler from doing any campaigning for two weeks. He is also forbidden from having any signs up for the next three weeks.

April 4 • A group of irate students came before the Senate Wednesday to express their strong distaste for a recent issue of the Long Beach Union. The students were offended by a depiction of Senator Estee Sepulveda, who is running for treasurer.

April 5 • In a surprising reversal of fortune, the presidential campaign of Senator Morgan Wheeler is back on its feet today. The AS Judiciary issued an injunction Monday against the Elections Commission, allowing Wheeler to repost signs on campus during the final week of campaigning.

April 11 • Elections Commissioner Heather Benton said she expects a higher turnout for elections this week following a campaign characterized by "nitty-gritty" politics. As a result of personal attacks, high-profile candidates, gossip and alleged campaign sign destruction Cal State Long Beach's 2005 election has raised more student awareness despite the politically apathetic reputation of the campus.

April 14 • Joseph DeSantis withdrew from his vice presidential candidacy this week. His official resignation letter was turned in to the Academic Senate office yesterday. In his letter, DeSantis said he is "withdrawing in protest of inappropriate and vicious campaign tactics waged against me." DeSantis said his experience during the campaign has been negative and he does not want to be a part of a "system as debase as this."

April 18 • Last week's elections ended with the next president and treasurer undecided. No candidates in either position received the simple majority of votes needed to win outright. Hironao Okahana won the office of vice president with 82.1 percent of the vote. A runoff election is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, where Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Jamie Pollock will compete for president and Sepulveda and Zaira Tinoco will compete for treasurer.

April 20 • After the disappearance of Union newspapers Monday, editor in chief Elijah Bates demanded at a Tuesday night elections commission meeting that action be taken against illegal campaign tactics.

An estimated 6,000 newspapers were stolen from Union stands on Monday. Throughout the course of the day, the stands were emptied three times. According to Bates, the copies were found in the trash and replaced in the stands in hopes that students would have the opportunity to read them.

April 25 • The results of the races for president and treasurer remain in limbo, even though the runoff elections are finished and the ballots have been counted. The Judiciary has stopped the release of the elections results until they can hear a complaint made by the Union newspaper against presidential candidate Ntuk and other Cal State Long Beach students.

At the heart of the complaint is the accusation that individuals who identified themselves with the Ntuk campaign were seen participating in the theft of over 6,000 copies of the Union on Monday, April 18.

April 26 •  Pollock and Tinoco have won what has proven to be one of CSULB's most contentious elections. Pollock received 52.2 percent of the votes, while her opponent, Ntuk, picked up 47.7 percent, according to a consultant from the firm that counted the ballots in unofficial results given to the Daily Forty-Niner.

The race for treasurer was much closer. Tinoco led Sepulveda with less than 1 percent of the vote, earning 50.3 percent of the votes cast. This put Tinoco just a few dozen ballots ahead of Sepulveda's 49.6 percent.

The case brought by the Union newspaper against Ntuk continues to be deliberated. The Judiciary heard arguments by Ntuk and the lead editors of the Union yesterday in a meeting that lasted well over two hours.

April 27 • The elections are over, but the results are not yet set in stone. The Elections Commission announced the winners of the races for president and treasurer, but Heather Benton, the elections commissioner, said the results were tentative.

There are five campaign violations, filed by Ntuk and Frank Oliver, the president of the African Student Union, against president-elect Pollock that the commission will hear Thursday night.

The Judiciary posted a ruling in the previously mentioned case against Ntuk yesterday, clearing him of two charges of theft and finding him guilty of a third.

May 2 •  Pollock won the position of president April 26, but the Elections Commission has decided otherwise. After a lengthy hearing Thursday night and closed deliberations that lasted until nearly 2:30 a.m. Friday morning, the Elections Commission issued an official press release in the afternoon.

"The Commission has sanctioned that Pollock be dismissed from her tentative office of president-elect," the release stated.

The door to the president's office, though, remains open. Pollock has filed a complaint with the Judiciary.

May 3 • In an extremely brief meeting held yesterday in the University Student Union ballroom, the Judiciary issued an injunction against the Elections Commission and their recent ruling against former president-elect Pollock.

Both former presidential candidate Ntuk and Bobby Godina, campaign manager for Pollock, filed requests for the Judiciary to hear cases. Both cases focus on the Elections Commission's ruling against Pollock and the results of the runoff elections. Pollock is contesting the Elections Commission's recent ruling, which found her guilty of either three major violations or six minor and one major violation of elections rules.

May 9 • An elections recount held Thursday has confirmed Pollock and Tinoco's runoff victories. The numbers did not change from the original counting performed nearly two weeks ago.

May 10 • After two hearings and a recount, Pollock has been officially reinstated to the presidency. In a ruling issued late Monday afternoon, the Judiciary significantly reduced the Elections Commission's previous findings, which disqualified her from the position. The Judiciary threw out some of the charges of which Pollock was previously found guilty.

In Ntuk's complaint against the Union, the Judiciary cleared the paper of all charges. They held that the paper was not affiliated with Pollock's campaign, and that the articles published in the April 18 issue did not constitute campaigning.

May 13 •  Pollock was installed as president at Wednesday's Senate meeting. She is the last ASI executive officer to be sworn in by President Robert C. Maxson.

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