2008 Woodie Awards
ASU Amends Election Code
Anna Goldberg
Issue date: 5/18/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The College Counsel ordered the Associated Student Union to change its election code, stating that some of the rules were in violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act.
Last month, the ASU delayed announcing the new president due to complaints filed by some of the presidential candidates. The ASU officials said that they would hold a closed-door hearing to sort through the complaints and make a decision on the outcome of the election. The Valley Star requested access to the hearing and a copy of the complaints.
The request was initially denied and later referred to the Los Angeles Community College District General Counsel that told the ASU that it was indeed in violation of the Brown Act.
"I think we've all learned from this experience," said ASU adviser Sherri Rodriguez. "The Valley Star has taught us something. We used the information to amend our Election Code."
The Brown Act states that the only topics that may be discussed behind closed doors are those dealing with real property negotiations, pending litigation, personnel and threat to public safety and labor negotiations, but that the action taken during those closed sessions must be reported to the public.
The purpose of the policy, as stated in the Brown Act, is to make sure that the public servants do not decide what information should or should not be released to the people of the state, as well as to keep the people informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.
"I was in favor of having it as an open hearing," said Ron Cabrera, Commissioner of Political Affairs. "The Valley Star fought the good fight."
The ASU has yet to resolve the issues with the recent election. The original decision to disqualify the two top vote-getters due to rule violations was overturned by Rodriguez. It was then followed by the Student Services ordering a new election for the position of the 2005-2006 president, upsetting the Election Committee and resulting in Jessie Salas and Jason Henderson, two of the four committee members, to resign from the committee.
Last month, the ASU delayed announcing the new president due to complaints filed by some of the presidential candidates. The ASU officials said that they would hold a closed-door hearing to sort through the complaints and make a decision on the outcome of the election. The Valley Star requested access to the hearing and a copy of the complaints.
The request was initially denied and later referred to the Los Angeles Community College District General Counsel that told the ASU that it was indeed in violation of the Brown Act.
"I think we've all learned from this experience," said ASU adviser Sherri Rodriguez. "The Valley Star has taught us something. We used the information to amend our Election Code."
The Brown Act states that the only topics that may be discussed behind closed doors are those dealing with real property negotiations, pending litigation, personnel and threat to public safety and labor negotiations, but that the action taken during those closed sessions must be reported to the public.
The purpose of the policy, as stated in the Brown Act, is to make sure that the public servants do not decide what information should or should not be released to the people of the state, as well as to keep the people informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.
"I was in favor of having it as an open hearing," said Ron Cabrera, Commissioner of Political Affairs. "The Valley Star fought the good fight."
The ASU has yet to resolve the issues with the recent election. The original decision to disqualify the two top vote-getters due to rule violations was overturned by Rodriguez. It was then followed by the Student Services ordering a new election for the position of the 2005-2006 president, upsetting the Election Committee and resulting in Jessie Salas and Jason Henderson, two of the four committee members, to resign from the committee.
