Take This Job and Keep It

CSU Council Gives Vote of Confidence to CEO

NewsAdam Kovac — Published December 1, 2011

Amid accusations of bias due to unclear allegiances in last year’s Concordia Student Union general election, CSU Council voted on Nov. 30 to maintain support for Chief Electoral Officer Ismail Holoubi.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss two separate motions regarding the CEO position; one of the motions called for a discussion of Holoubi’s role in the general election.

Allegations had been raised by former Councilor Tomer Shavit that Holoubi had run on the Your Concordia slate, whose candidates comprise a majority of Council, as well as executive positions.

VP Finance Jordan Lindsay pointed out that Holoubi’s name cannot be found on the Your Concordia website, and that there is no documentation showing Holoubi had been on the slate. VP External Chad Walcott recounted a question asked in closed session where Holoubi explained that he had aborted his bid for a Council seat due to prior commitments.

“Having chaired [the meeting where Holoubi was hired], I distinctly remember the question being asked, and I distinctly remember Ismail saying ‘I submitted my application to run, however due to school and work, I had no time,’ which would explain the fact that there are no expenses to his name, and that he does not appear on any affiliation [forms] for either side,” said Walcott.

The confusion was the result of an unclear portion of the CEO report last year. Holoubi, who is overseeing the ongoing byelection which ends Dec. 1, was listed, but his name could not be found among the unaffiliated candidates.

Holoubi confirmed that he had intended to run and submitted paperwork, but ended up not campaigning. He maintained his independence from both the Your Concordia and Action slates.

“I wanted to be involved as a councilor, to serve and to have all the students’ voices heard,” he said. “But I didn’t want to be on any of the sides, because honestly, I had a lot of friends running on both slates, and both were amazing slates and amazing people.”

Council also voted against overturning a recent Judicial Board ruling regarding the former CEO, Bram Goldstein.

On Nov. 2, following a meeting of the JB the day before, Goldstein’s hiring had been ruled to be invalid due last year’s council not following proper procedure. The position was declared to be open, and Holoubi was hired at a Council meeting that night.