The Daily Californian » Devonte Jackson

Judicial Council finds Landgraf’s executive order unconstitutional

Matt Trejo — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:44:04 +0000

Connor Landgraf is the ASUC President.

The ASUC Judicial Council found ASUC President Connor Landgraf’s use of an executive order in the recent ASUC elections unconstitutional on Tuesday, nullifying the health and wellness referendum, which would use student funds to build new fitness and wellness centers on campus.

Devonte Jackson, campus organizing director for the external affairs vice president’s office, filed the petition against Landgraf on May 1, claiming that Landgraf missed a constitutionally mandated deadline for issuing the executive order that placed the referendum on the ballot. The council ruled in Jackson’s favor, saying that Landgraf’s use of an executive order was “neither urgent nor necessary to the functioning of the ASUC,” according to the Judicial Council’s summary brief.

“We believe it goes against the spirit of the ASUC Constitution to allow the decision of one student place a fee referendum on the ballot when the Constitution and Bylaws have explicitly set out deadlines that were missed,” according to the brief.

According to the text of the ASUC Constitution, the president is vested with the authority “To direct by Executive Order the taking of actions which are urgent and necessary to maintain the functioning of the A. S.U.C. until the Senate can again meet.”

More updates to follow.

Jackson v Landgraf Official Judicial Council Summary Judgment (PDF)Jackson v Landgraf Official Judicial Council Summary Judgment (Text)

Contact Matt Trejo at mtrejo@dailycal.org.

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Judicial Council accepts petition filed against health and wellness referendum

Jason Liu — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:54:27 +0000

The ASUC Judicial Council has voted to accept a petition filed against ASUC President Connor Landgraf for his use of an executive order to place the health and wellness referendum on the ballot in the recent ASUC election.

The Judicial Council also announced it will not hold a hearing because of the timing and nature of this case but will instead issue a summary judgment.

“I’m not surprised that the Judicial Council accepted the petition, since they also accepted the original petition filed a couple of weeks ago,” said ASUC Attorney General Hinh Tran. “It’s unfortunate that the council will not allow both sides to vigorously debate, but I respect its decision.”

ASUC President Connor Landgraf is optimistic that the council will uphold his executive order despite the absence of a hearing.

“In the past, it seems like those who have accused me of violating the constitution have been poorly organized during these debates,” Landgraf said. “So it’s not a big deal that the council decided not to hold any hearings.”

Devonte Jackson, campus organizing director for the Office of the External Affairs Vice President, filed the petition against Landgraf on Wednesday, claiming that Landgraf missed a constitutionally mandated deadline for issuing the executive order that placed the referendum on the ballot.

People who have challenged Landgraf’s use of the executive order welcomed the decision.

“I thought that this was the best possible outcome, because I believe the council is interested in questioning the constitutional legitimacy of Landgraf’s executive order,” said Cooperative Movement Senator Jorge Pacheco, who filed a similar petition against Landgraf in the past. “Regardless of who wins the case, I’m happy that the council is respecting and embracing the judicial process.”

The possibility of a settlement remains open if both parties reach an agreement by Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Contact Shirin Ghaffary and Jason Liu at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

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Health and wellness referendum may face further charges

Jason Liu — Fri, 03 May 2013 01:54:46 +0000

Another petition has been filed against ASUC President Connor Landgraf for his use of an executive order to place the health and wellness referendum on the ballot in the recent ASUC election.

This is only the latest petition filed against Landgraf alleging constitutional bylaw violations arising from his use of the executive order. Two other charges were filed previously, the most recent of which was rejected by the ASUC Judicial Council before it could go to trial.

Devonte Jackson, campus organizing director for the Office of the ASUC External Affairs Vice President, filed the petition Wednesday, claiming that Landgraf missed a constitutionally mandated deadline for issuing the executive order that placed the referendum on the election ballot.

Landgraf issued the executive order that placed the health and wellness referendum on the ASUC election ballot in late March. He utilized the executive order after the referendum, which institutes a student fee to build new recreational facilities, was submitted too late for the ASUC Senate to vote to place it on the ballot by the filing deadline.

Landgraf said that he doesn’t expect Jackson’s charges to stand because individuals need to file lawsuits within seven days of an election.

“It’s frustrating because it’s been 42 days since I issued the executive order, so I don’t understand why it’s being filed,” Landgraf said.

Similar charges were filed last week by Cooperative Movement Senator Jorge Pacheco alleging that Landgraf “overstepped his authority” and “damaged the integrity and process of the Spring 2013 ASUC elections” by filing the executive order.

The Judicial Council ultimately voted to reject Pacheco’s petition, claiming that “the petitioners had delayed and/or interfered with the judicial process.”

Jackson’s petition argues that the Judicial Council should uphold the ASUC’s democratic process by overturning Landgraf’s executive order.

There are some, however, who claim that Jackson’s lawsuit bears a striking resemblance to Pacheco’s.

“I don’t think there’s any merit to (Jackson’s) lawsuit since it basically rehashes many of the same arguments that Pacheco used,” said ASUC Attorney General Hinh Tran.

Conner Nannini, the campaign manager for the health and wellness referendum, said he suspects that Pacheco may have been involved in the creation of Jackson’s lawsuit.

“It seems like the text from Jackson’s legal brief is 90 percent the same as the text used in Pacheco’s arguments,” Nannini said. “It won’t surprise me if Pacheco is using Jackson as a proxy for making the same arguments.”

Pacheco firmly rejected this assertion, claiming that it is natural that Jackson’s lawsuit would resemble his.

“My legal brief was widely distributed, so it’s not surprising that this new lawsuit is really similar to mine,” Pacheco said.

For Pacheco, however, it is not about winning or losing.

“I hope (Jackson’s) lawsuit is successful, but even if it isn’t, at least we raised awareness about the judicial process and the systematic abuse of the constitution,” Pacheco said. “The fact that so many charges have been filed means this is not an isolated incident but a recurring problem.”

According to Tran, the Judicial Council will decide in one to two days if Jackson’s lawsuit merits a trial.

Contact Jason Liu at jliu@dailycal.org

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ASUC campaign managers work long hours, hope for victory

Andrea Guzman — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:15:36 +0000

Dean Ignacio /File

As the rain poured on an empty campus Monday morning, UC Berkeley senior Anais LaVoie was setting up on Sproul Plaza at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for the first day of ASUC election campaigning.

Her goal: to convince as many students as possible to pledge to vote for CalSERVE.

LaVoie, a CalSERVE elections coordinator, is one of the numerous campaign members this year working countless hours behind the scenes to garner votes for ASUC candidates.

Campaign managers and committee members are faced with numerous arduous tasks leading up to elections, ranging from passing out fliers and managing staff to preparing breakfast for candidates.

As party chairs for Student Action, UC Berkeley seniors Sukhpreet Sembhi and Joey Lam help manage the party’s candidates’ campaigns. Sembhi and Lam describe their positions as full-time jobs with no vacation time.

During the days leading up to the election, both are awake at 6 a.m. to prepare for the day’s campaigning, and they remain on Sproul until 5 p.m.

“It is great to be around highly motivated individuals that are dedicated to speaking for students’ voice and issues,” Sembhi said.

Similarly, LaVoie said she works an average of 20 hours a week for CalSERVE, working longer hours in the weeks leading up to the election. A typical campaign day for LaVoie begins at 5:30 a.m. on Sproul Plaza, where she sets up the tent and headquarters for CalSERVE. At 6:45 a.m., candidates begin to arrive, and she and other members give pep talks and motivation.

She describes herself as a “wellness coach.”

LaVoie continues working until 11 p.m., when she and other campaign members come together for two hours to complete school work before starting the process again the next day.

“What keeps me going is the feeling that I get in tabulations after the results come in,” LaVoie said.

In the days leading up to the election, Katharine Caputo, a UC Berkeley junior and campaign manager for SQUELCH! presidential candidate Jason Bellet, said she will be working 40 hours a week for the campaign.

Although committed to the campaign, Caputo says she would be unwilling to put in the effort for anyone other than Bellet.

“I’m really doing this for Jason,” Caputo said. “He would be an amazing leader that is dedicated to the community.”

While campaign managers are committed to their candidate’s slate, the workload may prove to be overwhelming for others.

UC Berkeley senior Ethan Mark served as a campaign manager for former Student Action senator Michael Bloch three years ago. Initially eager to be part of the campaign, he soon realized the extensive workload that came with the job.

“At first, it was just a couple hours a week, and it was a pretty fun job just introducing friends,” Mark said. “However, it became exponentially difficult. I had to wake up at 7 a.m. to flier and was asked to pull an all-nighter. It was a lot of work and much more difficult than I expected.”

To UC Berkeley junior Devonte Jackson, however, the campaign efforts prove rewarding.

Jackson serves as the campaign manager for CalSERVE’s academic affairs vice president candidate, Valerie Jameson. His tasks range from managing a team of 20 to helping prepare breakfast at 6 a.m. for the executive candidates.

“This is a great experience in communication and organization, and it gives you the tools and connections to be a part of something bigger,” Jackson said.

Andrea Guzman covers academics and administration. Contact her at aguzman@dailycal.org and on Twitter @guzmanandrea5.

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Eshleman Hall custodians rehired following protest

Virgie Hoban — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:51:53 +0000

Kayla Shapiro/File

Following a protest on September 27th, Five Eshleman Hall custodians who were given layoff notices have now been rehired.

UC Berkeley has rehired five Eshleman Hall custodians who were issued layoff notices in August because of the building’s impending demolition.

When it issued the layoff notices, campus labor management offered to rehire the custodians if new positions became available. Though the custodians have now been officially rehired, the initial uncertainty of their employment prompted a protest by a workers’ union in September.

“This was a big moment because these layoffs were totally unnecessary — there were open positions in other custodial departments,” said Sarah Leadem, an organizer of the statewide UC service and patient care workers’ union AFSCME Local 3299, which led the protest. “Their rationale was, ‘We’re getting rid of the building, so get rid of workers.’”

Eshleman Hall is being demolished as a part of the Lower Sproul renovation project, which aims to make the plaza more lively for students by improving the area’s functionality, safety and overall appearance.

Positions have now been provided to all five workers, four of them employed through Physical Plant Campus Services and one hired through Residential Services, according to campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore.

AFSCME intern Devonte Jackson speculated that the decision to rehire the custodians was partly a consequence of the protest.

“The protest definitely brought more attention to the case of these five workers, and management made sure this was a priority because we took direct action,” Jackson said. “This is the power of student-worker unity.”

Gilmore said the decision to rehire was not associated with the protest and that the process for rehire was already under way prior to it. According to Gilmore, employees were given preferential rehire rights to be considered for re-employment based on qualification, though there was no guarantee for reinstatement.

“These are valued employees,” Gilmore said. “We are pleased that they were able to retain employment on campus.”
Maricruz Manzanarez, a senior custodian who works with AFSCME, said to expedite the process of finding the laid-off custodians new positions on campus, union activists scoped out open positions and forwarded them to campus management.

“We wouldn’t have known there were openings or not if it weren’t for the union,” said Leroy Thomas, one of the five custodians. “My only other option would have been to retire.”

Contact Virgie Hoban at vhoban@dailycal.org.

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Campus groups, workers’ unions plan rally

Rachel Kang — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 06:23:05 +0000

A rally is planned on campus Thursday in opposition to potential tuition hikes at the University of California and in support of workers’ rights across the UC system.

AFSCME Local 3299, a union representing service and patient care workers at the university, along with the Student-Worker Coalition at Cal, which includes, among other student groups and unions, Students for a Democratic University and the student-worker union UAW Local 2865, will be holding a picket and rally at the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way at noon.

After picketing for about an hour, protesters will head to the steps in front of Sproul Hall, where speakers are expected to voice support for the movement’s agenda. Among other demands, the protesters ask that the campus rehire five laid-off workers to work at other campus departments and that the university support a state Senate bill that would allow graduate student researchers to unionize, according to a statement released by Students for a Democratic University.

The university is taking cost-cutting measures that undermine the rights of workers, said Devonte Jackson, a campus junior and mobilizing director of CalSERVE.

Maricruz Manzanarez, senior custodian at Unit 2 and member of AFSCME Local 3299, said she hopes Thursday’s rally will be a chance for her and other campus workers’ voices to be heard.

“(The university) needs to value the hard work we put in,” she said. “It’s like they forgot.”

People attending the rally have been encouraged to wear black in order to show solidarity for the workers, according to a flier publicizing the event. UCPD Capt. Margo Bennett said campus police officers will monitor the event and “will react to any needs that come up.”

Contact Rachel Kang at rkang@dailycal.org.

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