Eleven grievances were filed against an ASUO senator that, if found to be true, could make him lose his Senate position.
EMU Board member Michelle Haley said she filed the grievances Wednesday against Senate Treasurer Nathan Perley to combat senators' widespread noncompliance with ASUO rules. Eight charges were filed against him as Senate treasurer and three as an ASUO senator.
"There's an unwritten understanding among senators that 'I am in noncompliance, you're in noncompliance, but let's not step on each other's toes,'" Haley said.
Senate President Alex McCafferty rejected those claims, saying many of Haley's grievances were based on a set of new rules that were not in place long enough to apply when the grievances were filed.
"You're not bound by rules that haven't been made law yet," Sen. Kate Jones said.
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Six of the grievances pertain to Perley's duty to make budget information available and facilitate communication on financial matters. Two concern his availability for office hours. The others concern his obligation to form and chair a finance committee, his obligation to fundraise, and conflicts of interest. Four of the counts are wholly or partially based on new rules that were put into place Nov. 7.
Haley and Perley ran for ASUO last year on the same slate, Oregon Action Team, which also included ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz. Haley said she thought Perley was "a great guy." Perley said he had not spoken with Haley since the grievances were filed.
"I don't want to see Sen. Perley out of office," Haley said, but added, "I don't think it should be OK that everyone slacks off."
Perley wasn't the only senator Haley could have chosen, as many senators are in noncompliance, she said. She chose Perley in hopes that their friendship would prevent her grievances from being seen as a partisan political gesture.
Another reason Haley targeted Perley was for his recent requests for a $50 increase to the Senate treasurer's stipend next school year, which she said was inappropriate given his alleged breaches of duty.
"I'm not going to be treasurer next year, so I don't see what (the allegations of noncompliance have) to do with it," Perley said.
The grievances filed during Wednesday's Senate meeting shocked the senators. Perley said he was "very emotionally upset," but added that he was "not going to cry" as he ran down the list of grievances, attempting to refute each one. Most senators in the meeting were supportive of Perley.
"Act in severe caution," Sen. Emma Kallaway advised Perley. "You are in the right, but you will come out much better if you don't retaliate in any sort of way. I'm going to put my support in you," she said.
Perley attributed the grievances during the meeting to comments left on the Oregon Commentator blog. The authors of the comments impersonated Perley and falsely claimed he was planning to run for ASUO president. This created a storm of criticism for Perley on the Web site.
Perley subsequently went to the Commentator's office and asked the publication's editor, C. J. Ciaramella, to remove the entire thread of comments. Ciaramella removed only the posts that were falsely made in Perley's name.
Haley is a member of the Commentator staff, but said she was not motivated by the posts or Perley's response when filing the claim.
The grievances will go to ASUO Constitution Court for review. There is no set date for the court's verdict.
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