Gianni DiCrosta / Roundup
David Follosco, vice president of Student Services, announced a reelection Monday for the position of Associated Students Organization (ASO) vice president in response to recent controversy surrounding the ASO elections.
The reelection will take place May 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. outside the Great Hall.
The decision was made to resolve an election dispute involving the campaign parties of Lauren Aardema and Daniel Axelrod, vice presidential candidates.
ASO elections took place April 19 and 20. More than 900 people turned out to vote for new members of the ASO Senate, which is responsible for allocating funds on behalf of Pierce College’s student body.
An inquiry to validate the position of vice president was made on April 23 after a ballot counting issue.
The issue lead to a Student Court meeting that ended in Aardema’s disqualification from the election.
According to a written statement issued by Follosco, there was violations made by both candidates’ parties, which substantiated a reelection.
Aardema’s campaign representatives were seen within 50 foot boundaries set by ASO election by laws, and a student election worker was seen wearing a button with Axelrod’s name on it.
Follosco said later that all the evidence presented was reviewed, including the original Student Court decision.
Nick Naczinski, ASO’s newly elected president agrees with the idea of a reelection.
“I think that it’s pretty fair,” Naczinski said. “It’s more fair than taking away the position from either one of them.”
“It’ll be difficult going through [the process] again,” he added. “But they’ll be able to do it.”
Aardema is also satisfied with the decision.
“I’m really pleased with the decision and I look forward to campaigning for the students again,” said Aardema. “I do expect there to be a smaller turnout, but hopefully there will be the same outcome, with me as the winner.”
Axelrod wasn’t as enthusiastic about the choice.
“There was no thought put into that. It’s ridiculous,” Axelrod said. “That’s the last couple classes before finals.”
Chris Suard, current ASO vice president, issued a statement directly following the announcement.
“The ASO has five days to appeal the decision and we will fight it,” Suard said. “We will make every effort to change the administration’s decision.”
At yesterday’s ASO meeting, Suard said that he would be writing the appeal alongside Axelrod.
“If the appeal doesn’t go through, I have no choice but to fight on the 24th and 25th,” said Axelrod.
In response to a possible appeal, Follosco said district policies state that all further issues would be dealt with by Pierce College’s interim president, Joy McCaslin.
If the appeal fails, the ASO will honor the decision to have a reelection.
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