The Elections Board is one of the most important bodies of the Undergraduate Students Association Council ““ it is up to this board to ensure that student elections are carried out in the fairest possible manner. Given how much is at stake every election, the selection of an Elections Board chair is one of the most important decisions I have to make. And it was with pride and confidence that I forwarded Kyle Kleckner for the job.
I have faced much criticism for this decision. There are several reasons; all of them understandable. People are concerned that Kyle’s involvement with Bruin Democrats, a group that usually endorses candidates during USAC elections, compromises his integrity. Being a member of Bruin Democrats does not make Kleckner partisan.
While this faulty assumption of automatic partisanship may be true for some organizations, it is certainly not true of Bruin Democrats, whose members have much more diverse views than this. I know for a fact that Kleckner has no partisan affiliations whatsoever, but you don’t have to take my word for it. His current position on the Student Judicial Board requires him to be completely nonpartisan. He has served dutifully, and there have been no complaints of partisanship. So anyone saying he is unfit to serve as Elections Board chair should also be calling for his immediate impeachment from the Student Judicial Board, if he is so biased and partisan.
If everyone involved in the many organizations that participate in elections were barred from performing impartial duties, we would be completely unable to even fill these positions. Furthermore, my initial choice for the position, who eventually didn’t apply, was a member of an organization that frequently endorses the Students First! slate. Despite that, I was more than willing to put my trust in him; I wish people would show Kleckner the same courtesy. Somehow I think my detractors would not be making these same assumptions if my appointee had come from an organization that has endorsed them.
And for those who allege I appointed Kleckner because of some personal loyalty or favoritism, I would politely reply that, during the last nine months, I had only gotten one application for this position ““ his. The Elections Board chair is often a thankless and difficult job, and we should be grateful that the one application we received happened to come from an extraordinarily qualified and unbiased student leader.
Rose is the current president of USAC. He is a fourth-year political science and communication studies student.