[GSA Council] PLEASE APPROVE: Additional funds for GSA election

Mon Mar 23 11:17:00 PDT 2015

I do not think Houda's concerns about the budget should be so quickly
dismissed. No one is suggesting that Jon will use the money to "party", but
we should look at the budget and see how and where it can be adjusted in
order to meet the needs of our unusually large election.

I think any concerns about other areas of the budget, or about money being
spent on items that are not in the budget, such as birthday parties, should
be part of a separate discussion.

"The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of
tyranny is in keeping them ignorant."

Maximilien Robespierre

On 23 March 2015 at 13:22, Harkirat Singh <harkirat.ms at gmail.com> wrote:

> I beg your pardon Houda.
> And we have budget to let people celebrate their birthdays at GSA house.
> Just a concern.
>
> P.S. : I don't think we should debate on this request on this request by
> Jon which is plain and understandable. Of course he's not gonna party with
> this money.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 23 Mar 2015, at 12:59 pm, Houda MADNOUNE <president at gsaconcordia.ca>
> wrote:
>
> Hello,
> W have a fixed budget for elections, I asked liz to provide me the actuals
> and she said she will forward it by today for you to decide if you can
> allocate more money or not  , my concern is  that we are exceeding the
> election budget  postering + the 500 dollars Jon asked for Wednesday
> meeting  , we have 2 DRO maybe they can help him and divide the work
> between them , otherwise it is up to council to decide.
> Houda
>
> On Mon, Mar 23, 2015 at 1:42 AM, Jon Summers <jsummers6 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thank you very much, Harkirat and Isabelle!
>>
>> All I ask is that I be given adequate resources to properly run this
>> overwhelmingly popular election, and that I be fairly compensated for
>> completing this enormous task in such a limited period of time.
>>
>> *Council, in order for this motion to be put on your agenda, it will
>> require one of you to "move" it and another to "second" it. I encourage you
>> to please attend the meeting Tuesday at 6pm and vote in favor of my request
>> for additional funding.*
>>
>> I cannot do this without your support. Thanks again!
>>
>> Jon
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 22, 2015 at 2:04 AM, Harkirat Singh <harkirat.ms at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi jon,
>>>
>>> I won't be at the council meeting to vote for this. But as you explained
>>> it clearly, I think your request to make the necessary changes is valid.
>>>
>>> I approve both of your points and I believe everyone should because its
>>> apparent with the facts stated by you.
>>>
>>> All the best for the hard work you'll be doing in the coming weeks.
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On 21 Mar 2015, at 06:59 pm, Isabelle Johnston <
>>> isabelle.johnston at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Jon,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your detailed response. It sounds like you've been working
>>> very hard, and I don't doubt that the elections will run much more smoothly
>>> thanks to your efforts. I am satisfied that you should be granted the extra
>>> hours you requested, and the additional funding for the election. I won't
>>> be at the council meeting to vote, but I hope my fellow directors will
>>> consider this very thorough breakdown when they make their decision.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Isabelle
>>> On Mar 21, 2015 6:43 PM, "Jon Summers" <jsummers6 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Isabelle, I'm glad you asked. Since I was contacted by the Hiring
>>>> Committee on the morning of March 13, I have worked almost non-stop on
>>>> promoting and preparing for this election.
>>>>
>>>> I reported to Council that I have worked at least 50 hours already, and
>>>> this includes the following: 8 hours creating and maintaining the website;
>>>> 6 hours graphic design and printing; 6 hours postering both campuses last
>>>> Sunday (with no shuttle bus); 4 hours creating and maintaining a Facebook
>>>> presence; 6 hours producing content for email distribution to all members;
>>>> 2 hours producing content for email to candidates; 8 hours verifying
>>>> signatures and responding to nomination forms from all candidates; 4 hours
>>>> responding to questions from members and candidates; 4 hours contacting
>>>> various departments at Concordia, 2 hours meeting with Deputy Returning
>>>> Officers; 2 hours organizing a meet and greet with candidates; 1 hour
>>>> meeting with my counterpart at the CSU.
>>>>
>>>> The next 50 hours will be spent verifying all campaign materials and
>>>> closely monitoring all the campaigns, responding to questions and concerns
>>>> from our many energetic candidates, hosting the meet and greet with them,
>>>> hiring poll clerks and preparing a guide for them, offering multiple
>>>> training sessions for them and the DROs, and purchasing and preparing
>>>> elections materials.
>>>>
>>>> The additional 30 hours are for running the polling stations over 3
>>>> days and counting the ballots.
>>>>
>>>> For comparison's sake, last year I believe only 2 positions were
>>>> contested: VP External and one seat for ENCS Director. But this year all
>>>> positions are contested (and many of them hotly so) except for Fine Arts
>>>> and INDI Director. This means that I will have A LOT more work in the next
>>>> 2 weeks than any CRO in recent history.
>>>>
>>>> I would ask Council to please recognize the extraordinary effort that
>>>> is required to run this year's exceptionally contested election, and
>>>> approve my two-part request for additional funding.
>>>>
>>>> Thank you!
>>>> Jon
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 4:34 PM, gretchen k <gbayou at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hey folks--
>>>>>
>>>>> I am cc'ing andrea. this can be added to the agenda, you just need to
>>>>> motion to amend this business to the agenda when approving the council
>>>>> agenda on Tuesday.
>>>>>
>>>>> --gretchen
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 4:27 PM, Mathilde Mbom <mathildembom at yahoo.ca>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Should we make a motion and add it on the agenda?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Mathilde
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mar 21, 2015, at 12:48 PM, Jon Summers <jsummers6 at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear Executive and Council of Directors,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This year's general election is shaping up to be the biggest the GSA
>>>>>> has seen in a long time: 60 candidates, including 3 slates and a number of
>>>>>> independent candidates. *This is HUGE!*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> However, there is only *$1,350* in the budget under "*Elections --
>>>>>> Candidate costs*." The Election Regulations say each candidate may
>>>>>> be reimbursed up to $75, although I have lowered this amount to $50. Still,
>>>>>> if each candidate requests a reimbursement of $50, this comes to a total of
>>>>>> *$3,000*.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There will also be *other additional costs* related to having such a
>>>>>> large number of candidates, like having to print many more ballots than
>>>>>> expected.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Furthermore, my contract is for *100 hours of work*. I am already at
>>>>>> 50, *with the bulk of the work still to come* over the next week
>>>>>> and, of course, over the polling days from March 30 to April 1 and the
>>>>>> counting of the ballots. With such massive participation, it is essential
>>>>>> that I put in the hours required to make sure this election is run properly.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Therefore, I humbly request that Council approve the following:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *1) That the election budget be increased by $2500. This will cover
>>>>>> the additional costs of having so many candidates campaign, as well as
>>>>>> having to print far more ballots than usual.*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *2) That the CRO be remunerated for an additional 30 hours of work,
>>>>>> at $20 per additional hour, as stipulated in his contract. This will ensure
>>>>>> that he has the time required to guarantee the proper running of the
>>>>>> election.*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you very much to the Executive and the Council of Directors for
>>>>>> your support, and good luck to all the candidates!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Jon Summers*
>>>>>> *Chief Returning Officer (CRO), GSA Election 2015*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gsaconcordia
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> *Houda MADNOUNE*
> President
>
> Graduate Students Association
> Concordia University
> 2030 Mackay · Montreal · QC · H3N 1J1
> tel  514.848.2424.x7900  ·   fax  514.848.7904
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