The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico senate voted Wednesday, April 2, not to open a resolution containing articles of impeachment filed against Vice President Mutazz Jaber for failure to fill two “critical” vacant senate seats in a timely manner, according to Resolution 1S.
If there are vacancies in the senate, the vice president is responsible for contacting and appointing the official candidates who received the next-highest number of votes during the most recent general election who could fill those vacancies, according to the ASUNM Constitution.
If the candidates appointed refuse the position, the vice president is obligated to accept applications for the vacant seats and appoint replacements, with approval from two-thirds of the senate, within 10 days, according to the constitution.
Resolution 1S, authored by Sen. Jayce McCloud and Sen. Hope Montoya, claims that the senate has not been at “full capacity” since Feb. 1, though Jaber disputed this.
According to Jaber, the final official candidate left on the ballot from the fall 2024 election declined an open seat on Feb. 24, making that the first time a seat was left open that could not be filled without applications being opened to the student body. However, applications were not opened until March 10, as Jaber said that his responsibility after March 24 was making repeated attempts to contact Maya Aldosari, who was inactive in ASUNM for the month following her appointment. Aldosari was considered “resigned” on March 11.
Bailey Rutherford and Aldorasi’s seats are the only ones yet to be filled.
Originally, the applications were set to be open for 15 days, but the senate received zero applications during this period, Jaber said. It was extended on March 26, and they are now reviewing two applications that have come in since, Jaber said.
Jaber said he would call a special meeting to convene with senators and vote on the candidates on Wednesday, April 9, before holding regular committee meetings.
Many who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting in opposition to the resolution ascribed the impeachment attempt to personal or political grievances held by the authors. Others, including Jaber himself, claimed that McCloud and Montoya were not in communication with the vice president about the senate vacancies before the resolution’s filing.
McCloud is a first-term senator serving in his first of two semesters, and Montoya ran uncontested to secure the vice presidency during the most recent spring elections. Montoya originally ran on a shared ticket with Jaber that included an Instagram account managed by the two of them, but this partnership fell through due to what she described as “a difference of opinions,” she said. Jaber lost to Andrew Norton in the presidential race.
Montoya said she did not communicate her concerns directly to the vice president, but that when the vacancies came up in larger meetings, like during the Finance Committee meetings that she chairs, she got the impression that Jaber was putting off that responsibility, she said.
Similarly, McCloud said that the few face-to-face discussions he had with Jaber about the matter were short and informal.
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The resolution was not posted publicly until the agenda for Wednesday’s full senate meeting was posted online, days after the election ended, according to President Pro Tempore Gabbie Gonzáles.
Sen. Nick Romero called the timing of the resolution “potentially manipulation and election interference,” followed afterwards by, “while not officially, it was,” during closing remarks at Wednesday’s meeting — alluding to Jaber’s loss to Norton.
Montoya said that while the resolution was not publicly available at the time of the election, senators did approach her on March 26 to ask about it.
Anthony Languit, the executive director of the Elections Commission, confirmed that no contests of election were filed before the deadline of April 1, and the results were certified last week.
As for the decision to pursue impeachment in place of a lawsuit, Montoya said that it was “the best way to hold the position of vice president accountable,” and that the resolution allowed them to cite exactly which parts of the ASUNM Constitution were being violated.
The public-facing element was a big factor as well, Montoya said — something that a suit with the ASUNM Judiciary wouldn’t provide. She said that by the end of the meeting, despite not opening the resolution to a vote or discussion, they had gotten their message about accountability across.
“It brings it more to everybody’s attention, versus just a sweep under the rug,” Montoya said. “Did I want to impeach the vice president? No, but this was just one of the only ways to go about it to where it brings it to everybody’s attention on a larger matter.”
The next full senate meeting will be April 16 in the Student Union Building.
Elliott Wood is a beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
