Senator Mariah McKay and Vice President Brett Kahler review ASUW election codes during the Feb. 19 meeting.
Adam Lehmitz, a third year senator with ASUW, is up for impeachment next week.
According to Vice President of ASUW Brett Kahler, Lehmitz has fallen below expectations of his duty as a senator. The steering committee called him in to give him some outlines on what he needed to do to remedy the situation and Lehmitz was given a deadline. By the deadline given, all of the stipulations were not followed. The steering committee then drafted the articles of impeachment.
The impeachment process is procedural. The student government, and more specifically the student senate, has certain policies and regulations that each senator has to follow. When they are not followed the steering committee addresses those individuals.
“In our bylaws it says that each senator will be on two committees and each senator can only miss three senate meetings during the entire school year. Two committee absences equal one senate absence. So he got six committee absences and the steering committee had to call him in,” Kahler said. “A couple of things including no more absences were outlined by a certain date and it didn’t happen.”
For the past three years, Lehmitz has served in ASUW with the College of Arts and Sciences. Like other senators, Lehmitz is a part of two committees which consist of the Student Program Advisory and Student Outreach and Policy, one of which he is a chair for.
Even if the articles are immediately passed, that does not mean that he will be kicked out of senate or impeached. Instead, there would be a hearing where the steering committee would talk about the issues that have occurred and he would be able to talk about why he did not fulfill his obligations. Finally, the senate would decide whether or not to impeach the senator.
Impeachment in ASUW is not an unusual action. Last year the senate discussed an impeachment article for a senator that did get passed in senate.
“In our policies attendance is a huge part because if you’re not there you can’t vote for the people who elected you to vote on their behalf. That’s why it’s written in there so you can participate in all the things you need to participate in,” Kahler said. “When you’re not doing that we need to take steps to ensure that you do or by the impeachment, we will find someone who will fulfill the position.”
Right now the bill is in committee and the committee will decide whether it passes or not. If it passes, a hearing will take place. If it fails, the senator’s potential impeachment will be dropped.
At next Tuesday’s meeting, the senators will decide whether to pass or fail the bill as a whole. If the bill gets passed than the impeachment trial will be underway.
