Council Race Gets 40 More Candidates

The number of students entering the race for the Undergraduate Council is still down from last year, even after the council extended the filing deadline for several districts that had fewer than or the same number of candidates as positions.

About 40 students added their names to the list by the new deadline, 5 p.m. yesterday, making a grand total of 160. By the original deadline, Friday, only about 120 candidates had signed up, convincing council officials to extend the deadline.

"People are generally afraid of running a campaign they don't think they can win," said Vice Chairman Jeffrey A. Cooper '90, who is running the election.

The extended deadline still left the total number of candidates down from the record-breaking figure of 170 last year.

But Cooper said that all of the house races became competitive with the addition of the first 12 new candidates yesterday.

Cooper, whose name has been bandied about as a potential council chairman, said he would not seek reelection from Cabot House. Cooper said he would not comment at the time on his decision but added, "I'm worried about getting candidates right now" for the general council election this week.

"I don't see a problem with the number of people running," Cooper said. "Last year was a really exceptional year."

Amy B. Zegart '89, who served as vice chairman in 1986-87, also decided not to seek reelection from Winthrop House. Zegart said that as a result of "poor planning," this year's recruiting efforts were not as successful as last year's, when she was in charge of the election.

Council members said that by Friday's deadline, there were candidate shortages in Dunster and Kirkland Houses and the North Yard, with the most severe dearth in Dunster. Several others among the 17 districts had an equal number of positions as filers.

The North Yard, which on Friday did not have enough entrants to fill its allotted seats, yesterday boasted 16 candidates, the most of any district. In Quincy House, 15 residents are vying for six spots.