by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Officer elections for the College Republicans may not run as smoothly as planned Monday.
Bob Cornelius, a member of the College Republicans, said he will stop the organization from holding officer elections if his voice is not heard.
"We'll filibuster the election if we cannot get a fair election and have both sides discuss the rules fairly," Cornelius said. "College Republicans will cease to exist before it's all over with."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
He said students are going to be turned away from voting and running in the election because the party's president, Phara Forsythe, will decide who is eligible and she does not have records on minutes or attendance to prove who is part of the organization, he said.
"She has no proof to prove anything," Cornelius said. "Realistically, she gets to decide who votes on Monday, which is not democratic in any sort of fashion."
Forsythe said Cornelius' argument was ridiculous because the elections are fair. She defended the voting process and said anyone who has been to at least two meetings in the past year is eligible to run for an officer position and vote.
She has taken minutes at meetings and has attendance sheets from some of the events, she said. She said anyone who wants to vote could by proving they have participated in events or been to meetings.
She sent e-mails to members of the organization asking if they were interested in voting or running for an officer position so they can be added to a roster on day of the election, she said.
Forsythe said she doesn't consider Cornelius a member in good standing because he and other members have caused conflict within the organization.
"We're in a positive direction, and now they are trying to stop elections from happening," she said. "They have been engaging in destructive behavior and undermining our organization."
On Aug. 31 the organization was supposed to hold its first meeting of the year. However, an e-mail was sent to members stating the meeting had been canceled because it was under new leadership. The e-mail stated Justin Maier was the new president of the organization.
Maier said the organization's officers had become so inactive that the group was no longer legitimate. The group also was not fit to represent Republicans because it did not follow its constitution, he said.
Cornelius said he met with Student Activities Director Debbie Morris on Tuesday to see if she would be able to help change the voting process. He said nothing was resolved at the meeting because Morris has an unfair bias against him.
"She has held resentment with me for some time and let me know today," Cornelius said. "She didn't name a reason why."
Morris said Cornelius and Maier, met with her to discuss their disagreements with the voting guidelines. The voting guidelines are fair and there is no bias against Cornelius or Maier, she said.
"These two members are obviously not pleased with the way it's running, but everything the officers presented to us looks fair and reasonable - and that's all we ask them," she said. "We're not trying to run their organization."
Morris said the members of the organization should put their differences aside and move forward.
"I don't ever recall a group that we've had to do this for," Morris said. "My concern is - and I keep repeating to them - this is not serving the organization well."
Forsythe said she would not be running for a position because she is graduating in the spring.
"I'm so ready for the College Republican elections to come - to move on and move in a positive direction no matter who wins the election," she said.
