Council V.P. To Make Run

With the deadline for jumping into the race for Undergraduate Council president just days away, one of the most visible students in campus politics told the Crimson yesterday that she is planning a run.

The decision of Council Vice President Sujean S. Lee ’03 to run for president throws a wrench in the plans of Council Treasurer Anne M. Fernandez ’03, who had been planning a presidential bid with council Finance Committee Chair Trisha S. Dasgupta ’03 as her running mate.

Dasgupta said yesterday that Fernandez backed out of an agreement to run with her once she learned that Lee would be a candidate for president.

Lee, who is close to popular Council President Paul A. Gusmorino ’02, is considered a formidable presence in the race. Lee is well known on campus for co-founding the Concert Commission, which recruited bands like Dispatch and The Roots to come to Harvard.

“Of the candidates that I know are running, Sujean clearly has the most experience and accomplishments to her name,” said Rohit Chopra ’04, the chair of the Council’s student affairs committee. “So other candidates will have to prove to the student body what is extraordinary about them.”

Lee said she decided last Sunday night that she would run. She invited Dasgupta and Fernandez to lunch on Monday, and there told them her decision.

“Sujean surprised us all [by saying she would run],” Fernandez said.

Fernandez said she then declared that she would not campaign against Lee, and agreed to run as Lee’s vice president.

Dasgupta was angered, saying that just the night before Fernandez had said she was running for the top job and asked Dasgupta to be her vice president.

“She [Fernandez] said it was formal and we need to get together soon to plan our cabinet,” Dasgupta said last night.

Fernandez recalls the conversation differently.

“We were interested,” Fernandez said of a joint ticket with Dasgupta. “We considered it, [but] there was no formal commitment.”

Fernandez said she feels most suited to the role of vice president, and had always hoped to run with Lee.

“Our original intention was to run together, and we are very excited about it,” Fernandez said.

But when, in recent weeks, it seemed that Lee would not run for personal reasons, Fernandez started considering a presidential bid of her own, and looked to find a vice president.

Lee said she supported Fernandez in that endeavor.

“Because Annie knew for sure that she wanted to run, she went ahead, as she should have, and came up with a contingency plan if I didn’t run,” Lee said.

According to Fernandez, the discussions she had with Dasgupta about running together were predicated on Lee’s staying out of the race.

Dasgupta says that when Fernandez called her on Sunday night and offered her the vice presidency on her ticket, Lee’s remaining on the sidelines was not mentioned as a stipulation.

But now that a Lee-Fernandez ticket is set, many on the council say it is a formidable match.

Still, two other candidates, Lauren E. Bonner ’04 and Ernani J. DeAraujo ’03, could each offer a stiff challenge.

“This is not just an open-and-shut election,” Chopra said.

Bonner’s prospects will likely be brightened by recruiting popular Adams House council representative Luke R. Long ’03 as her vice presidential running mate. In his council re-election bid this fall, Long received more votes than any other council candidate on campus.

Bonner served on the council last year, when she was a freshman, but did not seek re-election to the body this year.

“I obviously don’t think it helps her” to not be a current council member, said Stephen N. Smith ’02, a council member who ran for president last year. Still, he added, council members know Bonner from last year, and she might find many supporters there.

DeAraujo, another presidential candidate, hopes to draw on his work on behalf of a number of political and public service groups to forge a wide base of support. He says he is organizing “captains” in each house to rally support for his candidacy.

The candidates have until Friday to submit official petitions to enter the race. Campaigning is permitted to begin then.