A Better Concordia on the horizon

Newly elected CSU President Schubert Laforest. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Newly elected CSU President Schubert Laforest. Photo by Navneet Pall.

Concordia Student Union elections have come to a close, with the entire A Better Concordia affiliation coming out on top, and only one recount scheduled for the position of president.

Presidential candidate and affiliation leader Schubert Laforest stated that he was “shocked” and in a state of “complete joy” that all seven team members were elected. He went on to say that he wasn’t surprised by the 28-vote difference between him and opponent Melanie Hotchkiss, leader of Concordia Could Be. Chief electoral officer Ismail Holoubi, who said the elections “went smoothly,” confirmed that a recount for the position would take place Tuesday, March 27.

“I knew my office would be very close,” he said. “[Melanie Hotchkiss] is a formidable opponent.”

Hotchkiss, for her part, spoke about how “terrible” it was to see such low voter turnout in the election.

“The last two years I got more than 730 votes. I got almost double the votes as a councillor,” she said.

The A Better Concordia affiliation includes Andrew Roberts for VP sustainability, Stefan Faina for VP Loyola, Simon-Pierre Lauzon for VP external affairs, Lucia Gallardo for VP academic and advocacy, Keny Toto for VP finance, Alexis Suzuki for VP student life and Nadine Atallah for VP clubs and internal affairs. Laforest said that he felt his new executive would be at a major advantage considering they have existing relationships and developed many of their ideas together.

“We learned about our team dynamic,” he continued. “How we operate under pressure, how to be most effective as an executive.”

Having had the day to let the news sink in, Laforest said that he is ready to start preparing for the job ahead.

“We’re going to hit the ground running,” he said. “Now it’s time to prove ourselves to our supporters and our critics.”

Current CSU President Lex Gill has already contacted Laforest regarding his formal training this May for the year ahead.

“I told him it would take a lot more than a month to figure this job out so we should meet soon,” Gill said. “The training is important. A lot of this job is thankless and invisible. There’s stuff to get done.”

Gill went on to say the future CSU president shouldn’t feel intimidated by the administration or the Board of Governors. “You have to fight to be an equal,” she said.

In terms of advice, Gill emphasized the importance of the CSU executive working well together.

“So much of it is respecting your team,” she continued. “Your executives become a lot like a family.”

Another result of the election was the successful fee levy increase for campus food co-op Le Frigo Vert, with 954 votes in favour and 660 against.

PRESIDENT
Shubert Laforest 758
Melanie Hotchkiss 730

Position                         Name                   Yes       No      Abstain

Arts and Science Council

                                         Adriana Farias                   310         67          409

                                      April Anne Underwood            326         79          364

                                           Carlotta Longo                  348         73          364

                                              Chad Walcott                  392       105          290

                                           Charlie Brenchley               333       117          346

                                       Christopher Webster             260       117          412

                                               Gonzo Nieto                   331       103         364

                                             Hajar El Jahidi                  282        80          425

                                           Hannah Hackney                297         67         422

                                           Johnny Alexandar              260         74         444

                                             Juliana Ramos                 303         72         403

                                       Melissa Kate Wheeler             315        103        382

                                            Veryan Goodship              317         69         387

Engineering Council

                                            Ali Tahouni                   125          22          82

                                           Fahd Ali Nasser               75           42        107

                                           Rami Khoriaty                 91           40          95

Fine Arts council

                                           Laura Glover                   108          17         54 

                                                       Michael Mercer                   81          22         63

                                          Nicolas Martel                   76          19          71

JMSB Council

                                        Jordan Lindsay                    128         39         72

                                        Elena Porosnicenco             113        38          79

                                                      Paul Jerajian                      95           47         83 

                                        Yassine Chaadi                   114          37         80

 Fine Arts Senate

                                      Bella Giancotta                     119         13          66

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