UC Upholds Kirkland Election Proceedings

The executive board of the Undergraduate Council last night voted unanimously to disregard the appeal of a Kirkland House council candidate who charged that a Kirkland election conducted last week was poorly executed.

Council President Carey W. Gabay '94 said the board then invited the candidate to contest the election before the full council, but that the candidate declined.

The election was held to fill the vacancy created in the Kirkland delegation when Adam M. Smith '95 resigned from the council three weeks ago.

Kareem U. Crayton '96 charged that council Vice President Melissa Garza '94 misrepresented his dealings with her in his speech to the executive board yesterday.

"The John Harvard statue isn't the only thing around here with three lies," Crayton said.

He told the board that Garza had asked for his input in determining whether the election should have been extended when Crayton complained about the voter turnout--about 40 percent of the house's residents.

While Crayton contended that he deferred that decision to Garza in her capacity as a council official, Garza said Crayton declined her offer and then disputed the election when he discovered he had lost.

Voter Turnout "High"

Gabay said the conduct of the election itself should not have been questioned based on its voter turnout. "The fact that we had four candidates for that seat indicates that we had publicized the election well," he said.

"And the voter turnout was very high for a mid-semester election, and would have been even for a general election in the fall," Gabay added.

But Crayton insists that the balloting was inconsistent, and that there were several times during the four meals set aside for the election when council executives were not present to collect votes.

"I went to vote and there was no one at the table, and several other people told me they tried to vote and no one was there," Crayton said.

Crayton said he was upset because he lost to Bryan A. Henry '95 by only eight votes, which he felt was an insufficient victory for Henry considering the conduct of the election.

Garza, however, characterized the election as one of the best-run of the year.

"I took every precaution from the very beginning," Garza said.

She worked closely with Kirkland House Committee Chair Trey Grayson '94, who helped her publicize the election and witnessed Garza's counting of the ballots.

"I understand the problems of the election process and didn't want anything like what happened in the fall to happen again," she said.

Last fall the general council elections were disputed at several stages when candidates claimed that council negligence was skewing election results.

Crayton argued for a new election conducted "justly and fairly," but resolved not to run himself so that he would not be perceived as launching his complaint for personal gain.

Garza said she had to make a quick decision because the council constitution mandates that vacancies created during the term must be filled within three weeks.

Garza motioned for the appointment of Henry last night, but pointed out that Crayton can still contest the election.

The council passed the motion to accept Henry, "but we're reserving the right to expel him next week," quipped former council Chair Michael P. Beys '94.

Ellie E. Malone '95 was also accepted to the council last night to fill a vacancy in the Eliot House delegation created by the resignation of Jonathan K. Hsu '94.

Malone was the only Eliot resident who expressed interest in filling the position.

Council Parliamentarian David A. Smith '94 said the re-evaluation committee addressed election reform in its meeting yesterday afternoon.