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SGA battles over VP slot
Wylie, Samora clash over vacant seat; Lopez stuck in middle
By David Pollan
dpollan@mscd.edu

Photo by Heather A. Longway-Burke • longway@mscd.edu Carlos Lopez, the current SGA interim vice president, finds himself in the middle of a controversy involving the legality of his nomination and the question of “lateral” movement within the SGA.

The extended delay in naming a nominee for Student Government Assembly vice president could lead to an impeachment of SGA President Jack Wylie.

Jesse Samora, speaker of the SGA senate, said Wylie has been irresponsible in his handling of the search for a vice president, calling the three-month ordeal an unacceptable waste of time.

“We are 110 days into the term and the fact that there is no vice president is ridiculous,” Samora said. “The entire vice-presidential search has been gone about the wrong way.”

Samora has threatened to call for impeachment if Wylie doesn’t nominate a candidate to the seat within the next four weeks.

Wylie contends it has been a long process, but he has been working hard to find the right candidate for the job. He said he takes his position seriously and is doing his best.

“There are circumstances here that are petty and unnecessary, some may even call it childish,” Wylie said. “But I’m not going to stand by idly … because this is very important and needs to be followed all the way through.”

He also said he has been trying to move the nomination process forward, not preventing it from happening.

“I’ve been trying to get this done and every time I do, he (Samora) has done something to prevent it,” Wylie said.

He cited his nomination of Tiffany Kane in mid-May for the seat, saying Samora did everything in his power to prevent this nomination from going through.

Samora said he didn’t feel Kane was right for the job so he blocked her nomination.

Currently, Wylie intends to nominate Carlos Lopez to the seat of vice president.

Lopez was the speaker pro tempore for the SGA.

One of his responsibilities as the speaker pro tempore is to assume the role of vice president until a new one can be appointed, a role he has filled for the past three months.

Stopping Lopez’s nomination are two sections of the SGA bylaws. Section 14b of the SGA Legislative Branch Policy Manual states, “Lateral moves within and between the branches of the Student Government Assembly are not allowed.”

If viewed as a lateral move, it would be illegal for Lopez to become vice president.

Wylie said in his opinion the appointment is not a lateral move, but rather a promotion.

Samora said calling it a promotion implies the executive branch is superior to the legislative branch and no branch is subservient to the executive branch.

“Calling it a promotion is not to say that the vice president’s seat is more important than any senate seat,” Wylie said. “Both are equally important, but at the same time they are both very different.”

Even if Lopez’s nomination were not considered a lateral move, his appointment would still be in violation of the SGA bylaws.

Section 16b states that anyone who submits a resignation cannot be reappointed to any position within the SGA for the remainder of the current term.

Lopez would need to resign his current office in order to take the vacant seat.

Wylie filed opposition to the bylaws with the student court, which ruled that they couldn’t hear his case until he’d presented to the SGA rules and ethics committee for review.

Only after the committee had made a ruling could the decision be appealed in the student court for further review.

The rules and ethics committee determined by unanimous vote that Section 14b prohibits any and all movement within and between the branches of the SGA.

Regarding Section 16b, the committee ruled that any current member of the SGA who is nominated for a different position must resign their current office before they can be appointed to the new office.

Now Wylie is returning his complaint to the court.

“Since this would essentially be a promotion, I don’t see how he has to resign in order to be appointed,” Wylie said. “It doesn’t seem to make sense.”

Lopez said the problem arises with the definition of lateral move.

“With the way the bylaws are stated, I can see how there is a difference of opinion … I don’t see it as a lateral move … The president’s office has the right to appoint a person they feel is the best candidate for the position,” Lopez said. “He (Wylie) has had other applicants, so it’s not like I’m the only one.”

Until the court rules, Wylie will withhold Lopez’s nomination.

Samora said he figures it will be another two to three months without a vice president.

He said the issue would be debated in the student court for at least a month.

However, Wylie is more optimistic.

“I would imagine they (the student court) are going to approve it,” he said. “It just has to happen.”