Elections board disqualifies Jacobson, Cook
■ Executive candidates Bret
Jacobson and Matt Cook will
appeal the board’s decision to
the ASUO Constitution Court
By Jeremy Lang
Oregon Daily Emerald
Even before the votes for ASUO Ex
ecutive were counted Thursday, the
ASUO Elections Board had disquali
fied Bret Jacobson and Matt Cook’s
second-place finish in the race.
The board voted 4-1 in favor of a
grievance filed by rival vice presiden
tial candidate Jeff Oliver, with Elec
tions Coordinator Shantell Rice cast
ing the single dissenting vote.
Jacobson, who called the decision
an “irresponsible finding” and the
process “disappointing,” said he will
explore an appeal of the decision to
the ASUO Constitution Court.
Oliver filed the grievance after Ja
cobson’s campaign volunteers dis
tributed fliers outside doors in the
residence halls last week. Oliver
said the action broke election rules
requiring equal access formal 1 candi
dates to University facilities.
Oliver — who is running with
presidential candidate Eric Bailey —
added that University Housing
adopted a Residence Hall Associa
tion rule that candidates could place
a poster in each of the common areas
of the four complex lobbies, but not
in the actual residence halls.
Jacobson said he carefully exam
ined election rules before distribu
tion, but he did not talk to the elec
tions board personally or consult
University Housing rules.
The board agreed with both of Oliv
er’s points and said the action affected
the election’s outcome. Election rules
allowed the board to consider the
housing regulations in its decision to
disqualify Jacobson and Cook.
Rice left the ASUO office before
the election results were released
and could not be reached afterward
for comment.
But board member Ken Best said
he was confident the board came to
a thorough decision.
“We looked at it from all angles,” he
said. “We decided on the grievance
long before the results were released. ”
But Jacobson said he thinks the
board missed key angles and didn’t
communicate sufficiently with
housing and his campaign.
“We were never cited by housing.
We were assumed guilty there [by
the board],” he said.
Jacobson also criticized the board
for not interviewing people from his
campaign and accepting his written
statement only hours before the de
cision without proper time to inves
tigate his claims.
“We first heard about the grievance
[Wednesday] from the Emerald, not
the elections board,” he said.
But Oliver said the board’s deci
sion did not surprise him, and the
violations were clear.
“All along I felt the grievance had
a pretty solid case,” he said.
After Oliver filed the grievance, Rice
appointed board ihember Emily Sedg
wick to investigate and gather facts be
fore the board made its decision.
“We needed to make this deci
sion before the results of the elec
tion were found out,” Best said.
Despite being from rival cam
paigns, Oliver and Jacobson both
agreed Sedgwick should have tak
en a more proactive role in her in
vestigation.
Both said Sedgwick told them to
Chrystal McConnell Emerald
ASUO Executive candidate Bret Jacobson said he will appeal his disqualification to the
ASUO Constitution Court. Jacobson ahd his running mate, Matt Cook, placed second in
Thursday’s primary election.
compile facts and witnesses/but
thew believed that was her job as the
grievance investigator.
“The fact-finding was left up to
us,” Oliver said. “We had to prove
this to her. ”
But Jacobson said that besides his
removal from the ballot, his biggest
disappointment is the way the rules
limited political discussion in the
residence halls.
“I am appalled that these rules are
anti-democratic,” he said. “But we
did receive the second most votes,
and we have a rightful place on the
general election ballot.”
Brooklyn, Bailey tickets already planning next steps
■The candidates want to
raise awa reness of the general
election and their campaigns
By Emily Gust
Oregon Daily Emerald
Even with the good news of l
Thursday’s ASUO primary election
results, Nilda Brooklyn and run
ning mate Joy Nair, and Eric Bailey
and running mate Jeff Oliver said
they hoped for something more.
Brooklyn and Nair said they
thought they could garner more
than 50 percent of the vote in the
primary election and win outright
without a general election.
“We always had that hope [that]
maybe we’d win that 51 percent,” Nair
said. “We knew that of all the candi
dates, we had the strongest base. ”
Brooklyn and Nair received 624
votes out of more than 1,500 total
votes — not quffaithe 51 percents
they’d hoped foe——^
But Bailey and Oliver, who re
ceived 237 votes, were also some
what shocked by the results.
“We thought we would easily get
into the generals,” Oliver said: “Eric
and I are moving on, but we have
our work cut out for us. ”
Another ^Executive'''candidate
team, Bret JacoBson and Matt Cook,
received 35fi/votes, but were re
moved from/the ballot Thursday.
J Even though both advancing tickets
had some air let out of their tiresrboth
said they are ready to get out nexfweek
and campaign for another four days.
A big objective on Brooklyn and
Nair’s list is to “make this campus
feel that there’s an election going
on,” Brooklyn said.
“I want students to be invested in
002965
To earn a 4*00
in Brewology
all you need to
know is
STEELHEAD.
□ 9 Award-Winning Micro-Brews
□ Soups, Salads □ Ribs Ip Fresh Pizza
□ Sandwiches □ Pastak □ Burgers
□ Spirits n Home-Made Rootbeer
TAKE A BREW HOME IN STEELHEAD'S BOX O' BEER
Steelhead Brewing Company
199 East 5th Avenue Eugene, OR Phone (186-2739
Engene, OR - Burlingame, CA - Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, CA - Irvine, CA
how this school’s going to be next
year,” she said. “This is their chance
, to make that statement of what they
'want from the U of O.”
"Brooklyn said that last year, a person
couldn’t walk down 13th Avenue
without getting a flier or seeing a cam
paign T-shirt. This year, she said, many
people do not even realize there is an
ASUO election going on.
“We’ll ask people if they voted,
and they’ll say yeah—eight months
ago,” Brooklyn said.
While the two plan to head out
full-force, they would not reveal
specifics, saying only that they will
continue handing out fliers, putting
up posters and talking to students
about their platform.
“We’re not going to tell about our
exact plans, but [it will be] some
thing really crazy that ties into the
campaign,” Nair said. “We’re just
going to make sure we’re out there
all the time rain or shine.”
Bailey and Oliver also plan to en
courage students to vote. But they have
a few more ideas in mind to keep their
campaign momentum going.
In addition to handing out fliers and
putting up posters for a second week,
the two will visit the greek houses that
they haven’t already hit. They are also
going to make buttons.
“We didn’t have buttons before,
and now we will,” Bailey said.
All efforts lead to making their
campaign more visible and letting
students know what they stand for,
Bailey said, something that he and
Oliver have done less than Brook
lyn and Nair so far.
With a difference of 387 votes be
tween themselves and the Brooklyn
Nair team, Bailey and Oliver have an
uphill battle ahead of them, Oliver said.
But Bailey remains optimistic.
“I think it’s well within our reach,”
Bailey said. “We’re just as good candi
dates for the job—if not better. ”
Lrn
th
Th
e
e
is
15
1,2 & 4
Bedroom
Apartments
90 Commons Drive
• Wafiher/dryer in each
apartment
• On bus route to
campus
• Electronic alarm
3 systems
s • 10 & 12 mo. leases
• Private bedrooms/
Individual leases
• Computer lab. copier
and fax availability
• Heated swimming
pool
• Basketball and
volleyball courts
• Superior workout
facilities
• Starting at $320
• Roommate matching
service.
T TNI VERSITY
WJ.tl IWliyM ■—I A
• COMMONS*
APARTMENTS
Property address: 90 Commons Drive
NOW LEASING!
CALL 338.4000
or stop by our Leasing Office at
90 Commons Drive (Open 7 days a week)
www.capstone-dev.com