TANNARA YELLAND
Associate News Editor

For those of you still wondering, Chris Stoicheff, Leon Thompson and Matt Donlevy did not run as a slate for the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union election.

Controversy erupted on the Sheaf’s website after the candidates’ surveys were posted on March 17, with students commenting to inquire if the three were running as a slate. Most of the questions were related to the three candidates’ posters, which were remarkably similar. The three were quick to say publicly that they were not running on a slate, though many commenters seemed either not to realize this or not to believe them.

This year’s election is seeing a surprising amount of attention. In last year’s USSU election every position was uncontested, so that rather than having a choice between candidates, students were asked to give a vote of confidence to each person running.

In the last six days there have been over 100 comments left on the Sheaf’s website relating to the election, and many students have followed the live coverage of the forums.

“They’re similar, but they’re not the same,” said Stoicheff, who is running for USSU president, of the posters.

“I think we also would have all been on the posters,” vice-president operations and finance candidate Donlevy said.

The three have not endorsed each other or anybody else and have never said they are running as a slate.

Running as a slate offers no tangible benefits to a USSU candidate. In fact, it could present a problem if the non-slate candidates were elected and part of the executive for the next year. This would be especially difficult for Stoicheff, whose job as president is to co-ordinate the executive, which will require him to work closely with each vice president.

While the three have been quick and vocal in their response to the issue, students have continued to flood the comment section with queries about the election.

“Neil,” one of the earliest commenters, left an open letter to Stoicheff saying, “Having a running mate who knows nothing about his position reflects badly on both of you. It will be difficult voting yes to you as President knowing you thought Matt was qualified for Op Fin.”

Stoicheff and Donlevy voiced regret that their substantive platform differences are being ignored in favour of a debate on the slate non-issue.

“I think it’s extremely unfortunate,” Stoicheff said of all the student interest in the slate. “There are real issues in this election and the fact that we’re somehow running on a slate, even though we’ve clearly said that we’re not… it’s a non-issue.”

One of the most substantive policy disagreements between the three is that while Donlevy and Thompson have spoken favourably about looking into sponsorship for the USSU’s student centres, such as the Women’s Centre and the Pride Centre, Stoicheff does not support this plan.

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photo: Robby Davis