And the title says it all.

I apologize for the long hiatus: Spring Break conspired against me.

On Tuesday, the new Spring Senators (including me) were sworn in. The Alligator predicted a “marathon meeting”; they were right. I was in room 282 from 7 pm, when the new Senators faced a mandatory orientation, until around 3:15 am, when it was all over.

In the first session, besides a sizable helping of drunken and/or teary goodbyes, the Senate shot down Vice President Joyce Medina’s cabinet restructuring bill (Alligator editorial). I promised earlier to write more on the subject of cabinet restructuring; I’ll promise again, and save my thoughts for a later post. I had mixed feelings on the bill’s failure. I still don’t completely understand the reasons it failed. The bill wasn’t perfect, but I want very much for a restructuring to take place, because the cabinet is woefully inefficient as it is, and we can be doing more for students than we are. So now we’ll try again to write something better and make it pass.

Additionally, Judiciary Committee chairwoman Becca Guerra resigned her seat in the Senate. The resignation was sudden, and came as a shock to many, including myself, although I later heard that others had been appraised of the resignation in advance. I’m saddened to lose such a dedicated and experienced Senator.

The Senate validated the election results. The first session of Senate ended around 1:30 am, and we moved into the second session. (I was in the restroom as my name was called during roll — I apologize to my constituents, but you gotta go sometimes.)

The Chief Justice of the Student Government Supreme Court was supposed to swear in the new Senators, but he was missing (I guess he’d already gone to bed for the evening). We were sworn in by former Senate President John Boyles, then we all sat back down and got to work.

The first matter of business was to elect a winner of the tied Liberal Arts & Sciences seat between Joel Witter and Elizabeth Perez. Joel has an edge in experience, having served in the Senate for a few months as a replacement Senator, while Elizabeth has not yet served in the Senate. Their personalities and campus involvement are very similar, with maybe a slight edge in involvement going to Joel. I know and like them both. I voted for Elizabeth — and it was unabashedly partisan. Both Elizabeth and I chose to run as Unite candidates because it aligned best with our ideals and values. Joel chose not to run with Unite, which indicates he doesn’t share those values — so I voted for Elizabeth. She took around 20 votes, and the seat went to Joel.

Lauren Mierley ran for Senate President, unopposed. Lauren has a lot of experience, she’s been in the Senate a long time, and nobody wanted to run against her. Someone moved to acclimate, I voted yes, no one voted no, and she became the new Senate President.

Ryan Nelson and Josh Weiss ran for President Pro Tempore. Weiss has been in Senate for six months; Nelson has been in Senate for a year and a half. They both have sat on the Judiciary Committee since Fall 2005 (Judiciary is the standard path to Pro Temp). I like Josh a lot, and think he would make a good Pro Temp, but I feel that he hasn’t served in the Senate for long enough. Ryan was a stronger candidate, so I voted for him. Ryan took around 20 votes, Josh won, and became the new Pro Temp.

In the election for the first Member-at-Large seat on the Replacement & Agenda Committee, Roberto Hernandez ran against Jesse Kirsch. In this case, I felt Kirsch had more experience, but experience isn’t as important for an MAL as it is for Pro Temp. I don’t know Jesse that well, but Roberto is an upstanding guy with a sharp mind, who I feel could remain non-partisan as an MAL. I voted for Roberto, who took just under 20 votes, and Jesse became the next MAL.

In the second MAL election, Justin Bell ran against Annique Deslandes. I don’t think either candidate had an edge in qualifications. Again, I feel Justin has the keen eye required for R&A, and the ability to be non-partisan, so I voted for Justin. He took just under 20 votes, and Annique became the next MAL.

I’m posting my votes here because I feel my constituents deserve to know how I voted. I realize it may not win me any friends in the Senate, especially among the people whom I voted against on Tuesday. But I believe in openness and transparency, and I stand behind my votes. I hope all the candidates who won will do a good job in their office, but for the reasons above, I did not vote for them (other than Mierley).

Moving backwards in time a bit, on Monday, the Unite senators chose me as their party leader, and Sarah Badawi as assistant party leader. That means I will sit on the Replacement & Agenda Committee, and Sarah will sit on R&A for any vote where I am a candidate. (In a future post, I’ll explain the significance of R&A, which explains to a large degree the importance of Tuesday’s votes.)

The major business for R&A this week is as follows:

• select a replacement for the open District B seat (resigned by Becca Guerra)
• select a chair of the Allocations Committee from its current members (vacated by Kevin Reilly, who was not re-elected)
• select a chair of the Judiciary Committee (vacated by Becca Guerra)

Regarding the open seat in District B, I have recommended that Kevin Reilly apply for it, which he did. For Allocations chair, I heard that vice chair Laura Gonzalez has applied. For Judiciary chair, Ryan Nelson told me he applied, and I heard that Bob Agrusa applied as well. On Sunday, we’ll interview all the candidates and review their résumés, then vote for our selections.

Later today, I’ll head to Lake Wauberg for a Senate orientation retreat. I’ll also get a Senate mentor. I hope it warms up a bit before then — it’s currently 50 degrees.