by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
GPSA struggled to get through its agenda at Saturday's meeting when a petition was presented to recall Joseph Garcia, the organization's president.
There was heated discussion and a lot of back-and-forth between members who support Garcia and those who say he has not done his job.
"He's demonstrated a willful disregard for anything the council has done," Rep. Jason Thomas said.
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Members of the Graduate and Professional Student Association started the recall petition Nov. 9.
Garcia said the recall is unwarranted, but he is glad the effort has increased interest in GPSA, as more than 60 people attended the Saturday meeting.
"I welcome the recall," he said. "It seems it's having a good effect on participation."
The council issued a vote of confidence for Garcia at the meeting. It passed 28-10 with one abstention.
The petition states that Garcia failed to hire a three-quarter-time employee to work in the GPSA office as directed by the council, and he did not get authorization from the council to hire two part-time employees to help run the office.
It also states he did not manage the GPSA grant process and oversee the timely dispersal of grant funds.
Thomas presented the petition to the council with 284 signatures. The petition's validity was immediately called into question.
"I'm challenging every signature on that page," Rep. Isaac Padilla said. "We need to know that each one of the people that signed that page actually is the person that signed it and that they are graduate students."
Rep. Michelle Touson, chairwoman of the Elections Commission, would be responsible for deciding how to verify the signatures, said Melanie Armstrong, council chairwoman.
Touson was not at the meeting.
A recall election must be held within 20 business days after the signatures are presented, according to the GPSA constitution.
Rep. Gene Henley said the recall should begin no later than Jan. 30 and end no later than Feb. 4.
Because of winter break, the election would not be held until the spring semester, Thomas said.
The election would decide whether Garcia should be removed. If he is, there will be another election for the remainder of his term, which ends in June.
Thomas said the constitution does not specify when a new president would be elected if Garcia is removed.
Touson issued a statement to the council in which she said she would follow the GPSA constitution and hold a fair election. However, she does not support the recall effort.
". a recall of our sitting president is a waste of time and the limited resources of GPSA, as I believe they are motivated by ideological and political differences," according to the statement.
Many representatives said they believe the recall effort is racially motivated, but the members heading the effort said it has nothing to do with Garcia's race.
The Graduate Student Coalition for Diversity presented a statement of endorsement for Garcia. About 40 students stood up in support of Garcia while the statement was read.
"He has worked to improve both the workability and political involvement of GPSA as a voice of the graduate and professional student body," the statement said.
The statement says that most importantly, there has been unprecedented involvement in GPSA with important issues that affect graduate students, including equity and inclusion.
Henley said he agrees with much of the statement, but the recall has nothing to do with those issues. He said it has to do with financial mismanagement and failing to follow council directives.
"If students are OK with this type of government, then that's their right," he said. "What we have brought forth are some concerns and issues we think are important."
