By: Becca Griesemer/Staff Writer
Though the Student Government Council at Biscayne Bay Campus is the council that tends to have unfilled positions, there is one that both campuses struggle with satisfying: the elections board commissioner.
For this reason, when Angelena Adams, junior psychology major, became the current SGC-BBC elections commissioner, she didn‘t have much ground to work on.
“There was no transition, because the last elections commissioner wasn’t there for a full year,” Adams said.
Kielia Samuels, former SGC-BBC internship coordinator took the elections commissioner position for a month because it was unfilled as elections approached, so a board member was needed to take up the position quickly.
But Adams said after she was chosen for the position, Larissa Adames, SGC-BBC clerk, President Christin “CiCi” Battle, and Vice President Denise Halpin, guided her through the process.
One issue Adams is confronted with is communication with the SGC at Modesto Maidique Campus on matters such as coordinating dates for elections-related events, but until its council announces a new elections commissioner, elections aren‘t being handled by anyone in particular.
Carlton Ng, senior finance clerk for SGC-MMC, said someone has been appointed for elections commissioner, and that an announcement will be made in the SGC-MMC senate meeting on Jan. 24, but said he could not give the name of the candidate.
Not only is the commissioner position tough to fill, the elections board lacks members at BBC as well.
While the elections board should consist of five members, there are currently only three: Adams, Christopher Lawton, the new SGC-BBC chief justice, and Michael Aquino, an intern.
Adams said there’s a conflict of interest for an elections board member to run for any senate position which stops people from being on the board, and she hopes students from other outlets, such as SPC, will come forward.
As the new commissioner, Adams will use the elections she’s seen in her two years at the University as a model for change.
Adams feels strongly that campaigning should be increased. One way she plans do this is by opening the application process at the end of January as opposed to mid-February, so there will be more time to market and inform people of the upcoming election.
The elections board will use flyers and other advertising to publicize as much as possible, in an effort to gain a senator for each of the schools. “That’s a problem we’re trying to overcome. We’re trying to get all the senate positions, it’s our main goal,” she said.
Adams attributed the problem to scarce publicizing and said she heard about student government by chance, through word-of-mouth, instead of organized information.
“It could be as simple as going to other schools’ events and publicizing the upcoming elections, because I’m sure there are students who don’t even know about it at the time,” Adams said.
Another innovation is that for the first time at BBC, the presidential and vice presidential candidates will be featured on one ballot instead of separate ones. The change is being applied because the University-wide Council of the past administrations voted in Spring 2010 to amend the new SGA constitution to change SGC-BBC’s ballots to a single ticket system.
Adams agrees that there’s no reason why the president and vice president shouldn’t be on the same ballot. “We’re trying to unify the two campuses because for a while they’ve been kind of apart,” Adams said.
To further this unification, Adams is currently reviewing and editing the SGC-BBC Elections Code to be more consistent with the SGC-MMC Elections Code. Adams said in about a week it will be ready for the senate to accept, and will then be available by request in the SGA office.
Adams was unaware that in Fall 2010, a judicial decision declared the SGC-MMC elections board statues unconstitutional, but said the SGC-BBC elections code is completely different. She said it does not include the statue that raised concerns, which gave the elections board power to establish temporary guidelines during elections.
Adams got involved in SGA after Battle talked to her about SGA while she was running for president.
She applied for a few different positions, such as intern coordinator, participated in an interview and was recommended for the elections commissioner.
Adams believes she was recommended because she wasn’t ready for a senate position, but elections commissioner was a position she could readily handle.
“They saw my involvement in school already and they kind of needed a little help with that more than the interns, because the elections is a lot more hardcore and they were like, ‘We think you’re up for it,’” said Adams, who plans to run for senate in the fall.
Battle said in an email that she felt Adams was the person fit to head the elections board as commissioner “because she is a just person that will patiently monitor the process.”
Candidate interviews will be held the week after Spring Break, and candidates will be finalized that weekend, Adams said.
Adams said the student body will learn about the candidates through mass emails, and platforms, or posters with the candidate’s intention of running, will be posted around campus.
Adams is unsure of who will be running in elections, and said people are being vague because they want to surprise everyone.
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