Former Students’ Association President Jon Macpherson, no stranger to controversy, was happy to see a “clean” byelection campaign but criticized Jeff Agnew and the role of Students’ Council.
When outgoing president Agnew was elected, “a lot of us decided to give (him) the benefit of the doubt,” Macpherson said.
However once Agnew began criticizing the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) — an organization “near and dear” to the hearts of Macpherson and current VP external Matt Koczkur — he began to think otherwise.
“Jeff’s a nice person and a good person, but I don’t think he was holding office the way he should have, making comments without consulting the people that have been there,” Macpherson said.
Macpherson was punished in the 2006 election campaign after he involved a representative from the University of Calgary Students’ Union by criticizing his opponent in an email.
Macpherson said he’s happy to see Travis McIntosh take the presidency. “(McIntosh) has a lot to offer. As a former president it’s nice to see the ideas he has . . . I think the voters spoke that it was the natural selection for him to take office.”
Macpherson took the opportunity to criticize Students’ Council, saying they are an ineffective, unaccountable and under-trained body with too much power.
“I really do think one of the biggest problems is Students’ Council has a lot of power and these are individuals that don’t have any real training in board governance,” Macpherson said. “They get training here, but it’s not enough.”
He cited how sanctions and a $1,000 fine against him were decided on but eventually overturned. Koczkur, the SAMRC’s VP external, was fined $1,000 and sanctioned during the spring election controversy but that was recently overturned as well.
“I mean it really talks about the accountability of council when the decisions they’re making are deemed inappropriate, illegal, (or) not within their authorities. Unfortunately, the only people that can limit or channel the power effectively of Students’ Council (are) Students’ Council.
“It’s not to say that Students’ Council are malicious, they’re all good hearted people, but they don’t have the training.”
In the end, Macpherson hopes to see a new era for student government at Mount Royal.
“This was a clean campaign — people are positive, people are happy — and it’s time to move forward.”
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