Student Government Association (SGA) presidential candidate Jonathan Darlak announced his withdrawal from the race on the evening of Saturday, November 10. The announcement was made within a Slack channel in the SGA’s workspace and was followed up with a more formal speech given during the Senate meeting on November 11. Among the reasons Darlak gave for withdrawing from the race were that he doesn’t believe he would be happy with the position nor would have given it his full attention.
Darlak’s withdrawal is unprecedented as it occurred several days after voting opened for the election. As there is no formal procedure for a candidate withdrawing from a race during the voting period, the SGA initially struggled to devise a plan to move forward with the election. After careful consideration and consultation with both the SGA’s bylaws and Robert’s Rules (which the SGA reverts to in cases where their own bylaws do not cover what is going on), President Lucas Gallo and Parliamentarian Dylan James Moon decided that if Darlak’s ticket were to win the election, he would immediately decline his win and the election would then re-open with the remaining two tickets. If either of the other two tickets (Jason Chlus & Ryan Tom and Mark Krupinski & Alexander Murtagh) were to win, the election would proceed as normal.
According to an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter, Darlak’s ticket ultimately won the election; the runoff election will occur beginning as soon as Sunday.
During his speech at the November 11 Senate meeting, Darlak also announced that he would not be returning to the SGA next semester. This came as a shock to many onlookers, especially considering Darlak had been the only senator of five to appeal his impeachment the week prior (which successfully resulted in it being revoked).
Many senators and non-senators, including President Lucas Gallo, expressed admiration for Darlak’s dedication towards his work with the SGA and applauded him for admitting before his potential election to the position that he was not fit for the role of president. When asked specifically about this situation, Gallo said, “Being SGA President is a lot of work, so knowing that he wouldn’t be able to dedicate himself 110% to the position means he would not have performed very well. I am very happy that he prioritized his own mental health over just taking the position. Jon is someone I have a lot of respect for and I appreciate all he’s done during his tenure in the SGA.”
The results of the presidential election will be officially announced during the Senate meeting on November 18.
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