Council Overrides Burton, Sets New Special Election Date

An administrative conflict over scheduling Undergraduate Council elections led to heated words on the council's e-mail list last week, prompting some representatives to question whether Vice President John A. Burton '01 has the political capital to perform his job effectively.

Last week, the council's executive board overruled Burton's decision about the date of upcoming special elections.

Burton has been pressured to step down from his post in recent weeks because of allegations he took more than 100 buttons from the resource center of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters' Alliance without permission for use in his campaign.

Council members say that Burton's subsequent loss of authority has led the council to question--and in this most recent case, overturn--his decisions as vice president.

"[Burton] doesn't have much political clout. If he says something, there going to be, at least for a while, a question about whether that's the right thing, and the best thing for the council," says council secretary James R. Griffin '02.

The latest controversy surrounds the timing of the council's special elections--held to fill seats vacated by individual council members who resign their seats or are removed from the council during the course of the year. Special elections typically occur several times a year.

According to former Vice President Kamil E. Redmond '00, the elections are usually organized by the vice president and are rarely cause for controversy.

Burton, who could not be reached for comment for this article, wanted to hold the special elections between Feb. 2 and Feb. 4. However, the council's executive board overruled his decision, setting the elections for Feb. 9 through Feb. 11.

Redmond, who until recently was a Burton supporter, said that Burton's reputation on the council has been trampled by the allegations.

"The reason that special elections have become such a big deal is that John really does not have the support of the council," she said. "Usually, there's discussion."

In an argument on the council's public e-mail forum, UC-General, Burton initially refused to budge on the dates of the election. A slew of council members assailed his decision, saying that his timetable left too little time to publicize the elections.

"Considering that people are still working on finals, I'm not confident that we will do a good job in getting the word out," Griffin wrote in an e-mail message to the list.

In addition, under Burton's timetable, all the campaigning would have taken place over intersession.

"If you hold a campaign at Harvard but no one is there to hear it, does it solve our legitimacy problem? Or, for that matter, make a sound?" quipped Eliot House representative Todd E. Plants '01 in a subsequent e-mail.

Burton responded to the list in a manner that some representatives said they found off-putting and stubborn.

"John is definitely trying to, in light of the controversy, assert the fact that he is the vice president," Griffin told The Crimson.

Burton said on UC-General that he and President Fentrice D. Driskell '01 wanted to hold the elections in time to seat new members before the council's next meeting on Feb. 6. As vice president, he said, special elections properly fell under his purview.

"I appreciate Jim, Kyle and Sterling's concerns and they were taken into consideration before Fentrice...and I made up our minds one-two-three times.... So basically, no change," he wrote.

Burton also wrote that he didn't think the council's legitimacy was an issue.

"Special elections are designed to fill vacancies, I sincerely hope no one is relying upon them to 'solve our legitimacy problem,'" he wrote. "While that is a nice thing to toss out every so often, it doesn't seem so apropos."

Other council members said they thought the tone and content of Burton's e-mails suggested that he was not open to criticism.

"Way to get the campus involved in your organization," wrote David A. Tortorella '00, a former Kirkland House representative. "If you are going to belittle the whole student body, you should try and keep it off a public e-mail list."

John P. Marshall '01, the council's parliamentarian, continued the exchange, writing that he disagreed with the notion that the council's constitution gave Burton authority over the timing of special elections.

"The vice president does NOT hold sole authority to determine the schedule and rules for Special Elections," he wrote. "The VP is responsible for administering the elections, but 'The Executive Board shall be the sole arbiter of all special election disputes.'" Marshall, along with other council members, has called for Burton to resign in recent weeks.

In an interview, Driskell said she thought it was inappropriate for Griffin and others to publicly question Burton's decision.

"That should have never happened. It should have been a decision kept strictly to the executive board," she said.

She said she also wondered at the motives of the executive board members who overruled Burton's decision, given that next semester's executive board will be elected at the Feb. 6 meeting. She also said members of the board were predisposed to disagree with Burton. Four of the seven are political opponents.

"I think it's interesting that they decided to stave off elections for 25 percent of the council until after they are themselves re-elected," she said.

However, she said she agreed that the scandals surrounding Burton would likely make things difficult for the two of them on council.

"There was a lot of general malaise surrounding our election, but we still have an agenda to push," she said. "I think we've already seen that things will be difficult."