Candidates Prepare for Council Elections

With campaigning for the Undergraduate Council presidential and vice presidential elections set to begin in less than three weeks, the first two official candidacies were announced late last night.

Fred O. Smith ’04, vice chair of the council’s Finance Committee, said he plans to run for council president with Justin R. Chapa ’05 as his running-mate.

David M. Darst ’05, who is not a council member, also announced his intention to run for president. Darst said he has not yet settled upon a running-mate.

Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Vice Chair Shira S. Simon ’04 said SAC Chair Rohit Chopra ’04 also plans to run for president.

Other council insiders said Chopra has chosen Campus Life Committee (CLC) Co-Chair Jessica R. Stannard-Friel ’04 as his running-mate, and that an official candidacy announcement is likely to come from Chopra later this week.

Smith and Darst’s announcements came one day after Election Commission member David I. Monteiro ’04 said at a council meeting that no public announcements or requests for support may be made by prospective candidates until Dec. 2, when campaigning is slated to officially begin.

Monteiro also wrote in an e-mail yesterday that the commission has prohibited prospective candidates from talking to the media about their campaigns.

“[The Election Commission] has tentatively decided that prospective candidates are not permitted to discuss their candidacy with The Crimson in order that no candidate receives any unfair advantage this early in the game,” Monteiro wrote.

Smith said last night he thought he was allowed to at least mention his candidacy.

“I got scared from last night’s meeting. I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say,” Smith said. “I think I’m allowed to say that I’m going to be running for president.”

Darst also said he intends to run.

“One of my main objectives is to help make the Undergraduate Council a more effective and efficient resource for Harvard undergraduates,” he said.

Though Smith and Darst’s decisions and Chopra’s expected announcement will throw off the commission’s timetable, the race is getting a slightly later official start than it did last year.

Current council President Sujean S. Lee ’03—the final candidate to declare publicly her intention to run—announced her presidential candidacy exactly one year ago today, just three days before candidacy petitions were due and campaigning was permitted to begin.

This year, according to Monteiro, the names of the candidates will be officially confirmed and released by the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Despite last year’s schedule, Monteiro wrote that the Election Commission will uphold the new policies for now.

“If this is a change from last year, all I can say is that we have all new members except for Nancy [A. Redd ’03] and me,” Monteiro wrote, “and that we are trying to be very careful with the rules this year.”

Ernani J. DeAraujo ’03, who launched an aborted campaign for council president last year, said though the Election Commission rules differ from last year’s, the races are shaping up similarly.

“Last year, I think it was pretty clear who in the UC was planning to run. I think this year, it’s the same situation,” he said.

DeAraujo said candidates should be able make their intentions known without having to violate the rules.

“As long as you are in accordance with the letter of the law—and they are very explicit—you are fine. It’s okay to say, ‘I’m considering running,’” DeAraujo said.

According to DeAraujo, some candidates’ chances could be hurt by formal restrictions on public announcements.

“If nobody’s allowed to talk to The Crimson, some of the fresher-faced candidates might be boxed out,” he said.

A council insider who asked not to be named said that Chopra and Stannard-Friel have already begun to “circulate their names among friends.”

Monteiro said such requests for support are allowed by the council’s election rules so long as they do not take place in a public forum.

As of last night, it remained unclear whether additional candidates would join the fray.

Two weeks ago, council member Wesley H. Kauble ’06 sent a message to the council’s open e-mail list, indicating that Simon was also planning a campaign.

“Right now, Shira is trying to get me to work for her campaign,” Kauble wrote in the e-mail, which appeared to have been a private message to Lee that was accidentally sent to the council list.

Several people familiar with the council said Simon had originally intended to run with Treasurer Eric J. Powell ’04—but Simon said last night she doubts she will launch a campaign.

“I’m still not 100 percent sure, but I don’t think so,” Simon said.

Another potential candidate who seems to have ruled out the possibility of running in next month’s elections is CLC Co-Chair Michael R. Blickstead ’05. Blickstead said Smith had formally asked him to be his running-mate, but he declined.

—Staff writer Alexander J. Blenkinsopp can be reached at blenkins@fas.harvard.edu.