The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) remains unable to reach an undisputed election result, after winning slate A New RRRA was disqualified and United was declared the winner.
United, previously known as Undivided, won the first RRRA election, but the results were nullified after the disqualification of slate Rez-Solution was overturned.
A new election was called in which Rez-Solution, under the name A New RRRA, won.
A New RRRA was then disqualified again, by the RRRA constitutional board on March 25 over electoral violations, according to current president Omar Bainto.
Bainto said the board made the decision after hearing from United, who argued A New RRRA had not received adequate punishment for its electoral violations.
“United . . . felt it was unfair that after so many harassment violations [and] serious violations from not only the first election but the second election, that . . . the punishments [A New RRRA] received in the form of fines were not sufficient or severe enough,” Bainto said.
Bainto said the board ruled that A New RRRA’s multiple harassment violations were grounds for disqualification.
“The board can’t be setting precedents that teams can willingly break the rules and get away with it and still go on to win elections,” he said. Bainto noted that the board’s decision wasn’t unanimous, but declined to reveal the vote count.
According to Bainto, A New RRRA has the option to appeal the board’s decision and said it would take two-thirds of council to overturn it.
A New RRRA campaign manager John Mesman said he filed an appeal within 24 hours, requesting that it be heard at the next—and last—RRRA meeting, but has not heard from the constitutional board yet.
Mesman said legal options are still on the table if council votes not to overturn the disqualification. He said his name had been defamed throughout the election, and that he felt the entire appeal process has been “very one-sided.”
“If we’re not successful, I, personally will defend my character and attempt to clear my name, because it’s not appropriate at all, especially in a student election,” Mesman said. “This isn’t it for me.”
Mesman said he questioned chief electoral officer (CEO) David Valentin’s motives in taking up the position of CEO in the first place.
Bainto said Valentin testified he had changed his conduct during the second election with regard to disqualifying teams, instead imposing $50 fines for each “serious” violation he handed out.
“[Valentin] indicated to us that he was really hesitant to take further action by disqualifying the team,” Bainto said. “He said he was trying to do what he could to the very ends of the earth essentially to punish this team without disqualifying them.”
Valentin said this was in fact the case.
“I don’t think anyone can reasonably say that my behaviour didn’t change after some of my things were overruled,” he said. “I obviously took a much different approach and clearly I thought at the time that fines would be a sufficient means of punishment.”
Valentin said he chose not to side with A New RRRA, nor United, at the meeting.
“I testified that the elections office did not endorse, nor did we not endorse, disqualifying team A New RRRA,” Valentin said.
“I presented arguments for disqualifying [A New RRRA], and I presented arguments for upholding [the election results], and I instructed the constitutional board to do the rest to figure it out.”
