Disputes over CRO hiring repeated

Jacqueline Perlin
Assistant News Editor
Despite allegations the method used by the student union to select the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) for the upcoming elections is far from transparent, the shoes have been filled by Obinna Oraka, a fourth-year psychology student.
In anticipation of his new position, Oraka says he has been doing a significant amount of research on past elections and how to keep the concerns to a minimum.
“I am very excited about my new position as CRO for this year’s election,” said Oraka. “Considering it is my final semester at York, I feel like it will be an excellent opportunity for me to further develop myself.”
The York Federation of Students (YFS) made several changes to their bylaws this year after concerns were raised regarding a conflict of interest with the choosing of last year’s CRO, Casey Chu Cheong, who was hired by the Board of Directors in 2010 and was said to have a vested interest in securing the incumbent party.
The bylaws now stipulate the selection of the CRO be done through a secret ballot rather than an appointment.
According to YFS executive director Jeremy Salter, approximately 1,000 posters went up around campus and two full-page advertisements were run in Excalibur for two weeks. This gave time for people to apply for the position of CRO or for a position on the elections appeals committee.
The elections committee then selected and recommended the top three applicants to the Board of Directors. After being given an opportunity to communicate with the board, all positions were determined by a blind vote, directors caste their votes secretly on a piece of paper and placed it in a container to avoid intimidation.
However Gregory Kay, YFS director for the Schulich School of Business, said that since all emails for the application for the positions were sent to Salter, the candidates are practically chosen by Salter, who has a vested interest in ensuring the incumbent party remains in its position.
Salter, however, made it clear that there were only three applicants for the position of CRO, and all names were put forward to the board and chosen by the elections committee.
“Mr. Kay is attempting to call everything into question despite the fact that everything is being done democratically, and in a way in which the university has supported and the YFS has supported,” he said.
“According to the bylaws, which I would implore Mr. Kay to read, the elections committee receives all of the resumes – they come to me because there has to be one email – but the resumes and cover letters are reviewed by all individuals of the committee, and then the decision is made as to what candidates are put forward.”
Kay said he believes Jeffrey Wong, a second-year Schulich student, was not chosen for the Elections Appeal Committee since he made a reference to the McCamus Report, an audit drafted on behalf of the university, which recommended that changes be made to bylaws of the YFS.
Salter said the McCamus report was not even an issue.
“The YFS put the final stamp of approval for bylaw changes at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and therefore whether the candidates agreed or disagreed with the report, the students of this campus had already spoken and had amended the bylaws,” he said.
But Kay is also wary that Oraka’s past position as a poll clerk in last year’s election poses a conflict of interest, while Salter says that the new CRO’s past experience with elections will give him a better understanding of how the YFS electoral system works.
“Poll clerks are unbiased. They don’t participate in any campaigning, and don’t participate in any other aspects being involved in the election other than facilitating the vote,” said Salter. “I would say that it is an asset that he has a familiarity with the system.”
Oraka wholeheartedly agrees with Salter.
“I don’t think my past position as a poll clerk conflicts in any way with my new role as CRO,” he said, hoping that his experience will help him perform his duties better. “If anything, it has helped greatly in prparing me in my new role as CRO.”