ASG Candidates; Left – Olivia Gordon Middle Top – Bethany Day Middle Bottom – Heather Nagy Right – Emily Dallas. Campaign photos

The ASG elections were held last week, but results aren’t yet available. The reason why might surprise people. 

There’s always conflict when people vie for leadership positions, and the student administration is not immune to this. Late last week, just before voting concluded, official complaints were filed against one of the candidates. Details of these accusations, as well as the candidate who is being accused,  haven’t been made available to the student body yet. 

As of May 10, the release of the election results have been suspended due to the election results being challenged. Mary Sicard, CCC’s current ASG Vice President, will be convening a meeting of the Election Challenge Committee by the end of the month. 

John Ginsburg, director of Student Life and Title IX spoke with The Print about the election challenge committee.

“I know that she (Sicard) is moving as quickly as she can to gather a meeting of the Election Challenge Committee as outlined in the by-laws, so that the issues can be resolved and the official results released,” Ginsburg said.

When asked about past examples of disputed elections and ASG changes at Clackamas, Ginsburg said that according to Michelle Baker, the Student Leadership Advisor, the last election problem was in the late 1990s. 

“It’s been quite a while,” Ginsburg said. “There have been many resignations over the years that had nothing to do with complaints, more with students changing their minds about involvement with ASG. It’s a common occurrence to have a slightly different student administration in the fall than the one you had at the beginning of summer.”

“Elections can be a stressful time for candidates, and that stress can cause a lot of interpersonal tension that doesn’t always come out in a positive way,” Ginsburg added.  

Sometimes the stress plays out in the form of election violations.  

CCC election codes come in many forms, from the size of the posters, the location of the outdoor signage, the way someone campaigns, and the actions of people campaigning for them. Violating any one of them could land the candidate in front of the Challenge Committee and change the result of the election. 

Provided the violations are egregious enough, they could even violate the college’s code of conduct, which could carry more lasting penalties like disciplinary probation, suspension or expulsion. The committee decides if it’s a strong enough offense to take to the college’s formal review board (CARE Team).

The Election Challenge Committee is made up of the Elections Chair and five non-ASG students, with Baker and Ginsburg serving only as advisors. Decisions are ultimately up to the committee. 

“We don’t run the process and defer to the students, we respect their leadership. It’s up to them to decide the outcome,” Ginsburg said.

“I wish I could comment on this, but I’ve been asked to not talk about anything until the results are made official,” was presidential hopeful Bethany Day’s response when asked about the situation. Emily Dallas, Olivia Gordon and Heather Nagy, the other three ASG candidates, did not respond to requests for comment.  

Additionally, Sicard, who is gathering the challenge committee, has not responded to numerous requests for comment. 

It’s worth mentioning that while the results have not been released, the number of voters has. A total of 320 votes were cast between the four candidates. That’s an increase of 252 from the last ASG election. While the increase is noticeable, that still only 0.06% of the college’s eligible voters casting a ballot.

This is a developing story.