ASUW election chair suspended after complaints

Days before ASUW elections begin, Taylor Newbold, the chair of the Elections Administration Committee (EAC), was suspended Thursday at the weekly ASUW Board of Directors (BOD) meeting.

Newbold found out about his suspension, a one-week pay freeze, yesterday, but he was not given a reason for the BOD decision.

“I was not in attendance at the last Board of Directors meeting, and they didn’t detail the reason for my suspension,” Newbold said. “I get paid horribly anyways — I don’t work for the money.”

Newbold works every day except Thursday, and when his presence was requested the day of the meeting, he was unable to change his plans to attend, he said.

Students Hala Dillsi, Chloe Ameh and several others came to the board meeting to complain about Newbold, said Charles Cadwallader, who was also in attendance for a different issue.

The students complained about the scheduling of the Candidate Forum at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre (ECT) — on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. — because it conflicted with an event held in celebration of the Office of Minority Affairs’ (OMA) 40th anniversary.

“No one told me that [the OMA event] was going on at the same time,” Newbold said. “I knew that the ECC had their meetings on Thursday night and I was trying to incorporate that into the forum. It became an immediate controversy. A number of people are trying to portray this as me discrediting their organization.”

Others say the issue goes beyond the OMA night event.

“This was not the only forum that he mishandled,” Cadwallader said. “There was an RHSA (Residence Hall Student Association), Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic forum not associated with the EAC where the members decided to go on without him unilaterally because they found it very difficult to work with Taylor.”

Although he has been suspended, Newbold will continue to work until elections end.

“I am still going to be giving 100 percent. I won’t be taking the week off just because I’m not being paid,” Newbold said. “Elections are going to continue to run as they have been.”

Newbold’s presence is requested in a meeting with Personnel Director Kimberly Reid, Director of Diversity Efforts Tyson Johnston, Senate Chair Shawn Fisher and the board this Thursday, where his performance will be evaluated according to Bill 2.79, which has yet to be posted on the board’s Web site.

“I think it’s kind of pointless to have an evaluation of my position at the end of the elections,” Newbold said.