JB report buried as minutes resurface
Fraud charges sidelined by councillors' removal
Jacob Serebrin & Andrew Haig
Issue date: 1/8/08 Section: News
According to a leaked Judicial Board report, independent student councillor Stephen Rosenshein appears to have committed "corrupt electoral practice" during the 2007 Concordia elections. If a group of councillors is successful, however, this report will never be presented.
The JB's report was designed to shed light on allegations of electoral fraud against two councillors, Stephen Rosenshein and David Kogut, and on its decision last year to strip them of their seats. Although this ruling was later overruled by a special meeting of the CSU council on April 26, the minutes of that meeting have remained mysteriously absent during the course of this year, and have been a constant source of conflict within council.
CSU President Angelica Novoa, as acting secretary at the April meeting, said the sole paper copy of the minutes was left at the CSU's reception desk and was "taken." She also claimed the computer file of the minutes had been lost.
The JB's report, prepared by Board Chairman Tristan Teixeira and obtained by The Concordian, provides confirmation from Danielle Tessier, the University's Director of Board and Senate Administration and the Dean of Students Office, that CSU Councillor Rosenshein was not an independent student at the time of the elections - and was therefore not eligible to run for an independent council seat.
Now, mere weeks before the Judicial Board's Chairman was scheduled to provide his report to the CSU council, the missing minutes have reappeared, delaying indefinitely the JB's report, and leading indirectly to the expulsion of several councillors.
According to Noah Stewart, the CSU's VP Communications, the minutes of the special meeting were found by councillor Zach Battat. Stewart said that Battat received the minutes from a former CSU councillor who is no longer in Montreal. Neither Battat nor the unnamed ex-councillor were available for comment.
At the Dec. 7 meeting, Battat, along with councillors Dalia Guy and Eddie Fuchs, presented the found minutes to council. Included with the minutes was a motion, "that no further motions or items of discussion be accepted for consideration by Council or placed on any Council meeting agendas on any issues relating to the CSU's 2007 General elections or the status of any current sitting members of Council."
The JB's report was designed to shed light on allegations of electoral fraud against two councillors, Stephen Rosenshein and David Kogut, and on its decision last year to strip them of their seats. Although this ruling was later overruled by a special meeting of the CSU council on April 26, the minutes of that meeting have remained mysteriously absent during the course of this year, and have been a constant source of conflict within council.
CSU President Angelica Novoa, as acting secretary at the April meeting, said the sole paper copy of the minutes was left at the CSU's reception desk and was "taken." She also claimed the computer file of the minutes had been lost.
The JB's report, prepared by Board Chairman Tristan Teixeira and obtained by The Concordian, provides confirmation from Danielle Tessier, the University's Director of Board and Senate Administration and the Dean of Students Office, that CSU Councillor Rosenshein was not an independent student at the time of the elections - and was therefore not eligible to run for an independent council seat.
Now, mere weeks before the Judicial Board's Chairman was scheduled to provide his report to the CSU council, the missing minutes have reappeared, delaying indefinitely the JB's report, and leading indirectly to the expulsion of several councillors.
According to Noah Stewart, the CSU's VP Communications, the minutes of the special meeting were found by councillor Zach Battat. Stewart said that Battat received the minutes from a former CSU councillor who is no longer in Montreal. Neither Battat nor the unnamed ex-councillor were available for comment.
At the Dec. 7 meeting, Battat, along with councillors Dalia Guy and Eddie Fuchs, presented the found minutes to council. Included with the minutes was a motion, "that no further motions or items of discussion be accepted for consideration by Council or placed on any Council meeting agendas on any issues relating to the CSU's 2007 General elections or the status of any current sitting members of Council."
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Titus
posted 1/10/08 @ 7:56 PM NA
Funny how nobody ever thinks about talking to the students' union's lawyer whenever decisions are being made over the very important question of whether or not someone is or is not a member of the Board of Directors of the students' union. (Continued…)
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