Student Government Association President Matt Calderone said former Executive Vice President Matt Harris was removed from office Thursday for failure to perform duties.
Calderone cited Article IX, Section 1, Subsection E of the SGA constitution as grounds for Harris’s removal, which reads “Failure, for any other cause, to perform the duties of office.”
“Former SGA executive vice president Matt Harris was removed from office on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 8:16 a.m.,” Calderone said in an email Sunday night. “The circumstances regarding Vice President Harris’s failure to perform the duties of his office are personal.”
The SGA announced Harris’s removal Thursday night in an emailed statement from executive press secretary Meagan Bryant.
“This decision was made with consideration of the best interest of the SGA, as well as the former SGA executive vice president,” Bryant said. “We ask that all please respect his privacy during this time.”
Though the constitution outlines a plan of removal that includes a petition for impeachment and weeks worth of senate hearings, Calderone said Chapter 204.2.1 in the SGA Code of Laws allowed Harris to be removed without an impeachment process.
Chapter 204.2.1 states “In the event that an unpaid executive branch member fails to complete any duty of office, the member is subject to removal from office.”
Though the executive vice president is typically a paid executive position, Calderone said he requested Harris’s pay be halted “at the end of the first week of November.”
“At my request, the executive secretary Brielle Applebaum notified attorney general Ashley Vickers that she would be suspending his [Harris’s] pay at her discretion and my request,” Calderone said.
Calderone said the SGA will follow the process outlined in the constitution to fill the vacant position. All students will have the opportunity to apply for the office.
“We plan to begin advertising an application after Thanksgiving with applications tentatively due by the end of the semester,” Calderone said. “We plan to conduct interviews immediately after winter break, followed by a selection made by the executive council.
According to Article IV, Section 4, of the constitution, the executive council will nominate a candidate to fill the position following an application process, who has to be approved by a majority vote of the senate.
Section 4 also outlines a four-part procedure to use for appointment. According to the Constitution, applications for the position must be available to all students for 10 full class days before the executive council begins the qualifications review process.
Following the qualifications process, an executive branch official will interview qualified candidates and proceed with a nomination. The nomination must be presented to the senate for a vote within 10 full class days of the review and interview process.
