Potts to assume Carson's duties

The TCU Senate decided last night not to hold a presidential election to replace Melissa Carson, who resigned last week.

Carson's senate seat was filled by junior Cristina Gioioso. Gioioso, a first-time senator, won the seat in an uncontested race, eliminating the need for Wednesday's scheduled elections.

At the meeting, Vice President Andrew Potts affirmed that he would take over the presidential duties, although he will retain his current title.

Potts feels that he is prepared for his new role in the Senate. "I'm ready, schedule-wise, class-wise; I am more than willing... experienced and able to take on the responsibilities of president as quoted by the constitution," he said.

Because the constitution provides no specific formula for replacing a president, there was much private debate on how best to fill Carson's spot. While many supported the idea of shifting presidential power to Potts, others debated the merits of holding a general election to select a president to serve for the remainder of the year. Concerns such as the brief period for which the new president would serve convinced some that keeping Potts in charge was a better idea.

"If it were earlier in the year, I'd have the opinion that to be on an ad hoc basis for a long period of time wouldn't be good," said Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, who attended last night's meeting. At this date, however, he felt that it was up to the Senate to determine what course of action would best serve its interests. "The timing here is just on the cusp of whether it would be productive to put in a new president. As long as we have a Senate to talk to about issues coming up this semester, I'll be satisfied."

Potts opened the Senate's discussion on presidential replacement with a letter co-written by Senate Historian Alison Clarke. In the letter, the two stated their intention to work together with the ultimate goal of finishing the year without losing the momentum they had gained.

"It is now more important than ever as an executive board to have a consensus and to work together," Potts said.

The letter surprised some senators, who remarked on what Potts admitted has been his "adversarial relationship" with Clarke. Last semester, Clarke motioned to have Potts impeached, and she had recently supported selecting a new president by election. It was widely assumed that she would be a contender in those elections.

However, Clarke and Potts apparently decided to put aside past differences in the interest of the Senate. "We have to do what's best for everyone, not just some people," Potts said. "Personal issues just really aren't an issue here."

Although both Clarke and Potts stressed that the letter was a statement of their personal wishes for the direction of the Senate, not a formal alliance, some questioned the constitutionality of their agreement.

"We cannot have any kind of visible or invisible power sharing structure. It's unconstitutional," said Senate Parliamentarian Adam Koeppel. "This is an agreement behind closed doors. The executive board is not acting as a body right now."

Others echoed Koeppel's concerns. "The fact that you went from exchanging contentious e-mails to presenting this letter written on blue sealed stationary leads me to believe that there are decisions being made behind closed doors," said one senator.

Clarke responded by saying that members of the Senate had indeed been consulted before the two wrote the letter. "Many other people were approached for their input," she said.

Despite apparent dissatisfaction among senators, no motion was made to pursue a presidential election. Potts received the Senate's support and will assume presidential duties, effective immediately.

It remains to be seen why the Senate worked with such a tight time frame for the senatorial election. According to the constitution they had 15 days to elect a new senator, although Potts said the timing was decided by Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley.