The Carleton University ombudsperson will review the disqualification of the Fresh RRRA slate from last month’s Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) election, after the association’s council voted to have a third party review it.
Fresh RRRA was disqualified from the Feb. 15 election by the association’s chief electoral officer, Jessica Beaudoin-Walker, after incurring three violations. Violations included a volunteer not wearing a badge while campaigning, a volunteer campaigning outside of a campaign zone, and a Fresh RRRA executive candidate allegedly bribing another slate to drop out of the election.
A recording of the alleged bribery was played at the council meeting. Fresh RRRA vice-president (administration) candidate Connor Thibodeau can be heard offering The A Team presidential candidate Ghassan Jabasini a job with RRRA in exchange for his slate dropping out.
Fresh RRRA came in first place in the election despite being disqualified, and the second-place slate, The Next Step, was named the winner. The Next Step is led by incumbent RRRA president Hyder Naqvi.
The disqualified slate appealed the decision to RRRA council, which was originally scheduled to review it at their March 12 meeting. During the first vote on whether or not to send the matter to an outside third party, council voted against it.
But a revote was held as it was not clearly stated that it would be Jim Kennelly, the Carleton ombudsperson, reviewing it. During the revote, council voted in favour of sending it to a third party.
“The [RRRA] constitution has a certain way that it says that appeals should be carried out and that’s not the way it happened,” Naqvi said. “I think it will be interesting to see how this works out, [once] council has made a decision.”
Jessica May, Fresh RRRA campaign manager, said she and her slate will not be appealing Kennelly’s decision and have taken the option of litigation off the table.
“I know we will stick with the decision he makes just because he does have the ability to make the decision properly,” she said. ” . . . To take it outside to another body or person doesn’t necessarily make sense.”
Naqvi said he is hopeful Kennelly will be able to make an unbiased decision on the matter and has an understanding of residence issues.
“I think the evidence speaks for itself, it’s very overwhelming,” he said.
May said she is happy the decision has been passed onto Kennelly.
“I think it’s very important to have an unbiased third party to look over everything that’s gone on,” May said. “We tried to address conflict of interests from the start [but] there’s always going to be those little things that might trigger someone towards standing and supporting one side over another.”
May said she hopes the decision on Fresh RRRA will come by the end of March, before final exams in April.
At the meeting, council also voted to raise the minimum number of councillors required for quorum at RRRA meetings to 25. Previously, there was no minimum number required, and the RRRA executive could meet as a council during the summer, before floor representatives were elected in the fall.
– Photo by Drew May, infographic by Taylor Barrett
