Committees rule “not guilty”

The Judicial Committee listened to only two of the six complaints Patterson hoped to present… The Judicial Committee listened to only two of the six complaints Patterson hoped to present Wednesday night in the final hearing. Judicial Chair Leslie Luzhansky said the Elections Committee had heard only two of the six complaints on election night, and the Judicial Committee could not hear “new” cases, according to SGB election bylaws.

The two complaints concerned Elections Chair Andrew Powers and board member-elect Jennifer Anukem. During the week of the election, Powers gave candidates permission to use a paper cutter in the SGB office, despite a rule prohibiting candidates from using SGB “offices” for campaign purposes. Anukem’s hearing dealt with an e-mail signature she used that endorsed the Driven and Proven slates in a message to the Pitt Pathfinders. A bylaw states that “endorsed” slates cannot advertise together.

The Judicial Committee upheld the Elections Committee’s two not-guilty decisions, and those decisions cannot be appealed. The Judicial Committee did not hear the other four complaints because the proper paperwork for them had not been filed within 24 hours of the election, Luzhansky and Powers said.

When Patterson emerged after his hearing from one of the rooms in the SGB office, he stopped and warned Powers that the matter was not settled.

“I don’t know how you did it,” he said to Powers, referring to the four counts that were not heard, which Patterson said he had filed correctly. “I promise you this: This is just the beginning.”

Luzhansky later explained that her committee had decided to define “offices” as the candidates’ positions on SGB, and not as a physical place.

Powers explained that he let the candidates use the paper cutter because it did not diminish its value, nor did it cost anything, as using SGB’s photocopier might have.

“This is absolutely ridiculous,” Powers said.

Regarding Anukem’s complaint, Luzhansky said her committee looked at the issue as a matter of endorsement. Since Anukem never filed any of the official paperwork to endorse either slate, it was not a violation, Luzhansky said.