Congress Elects New Leadership

The primary purpose of the meeting was to elect new leadership for Congress.

Junior Tony Larson, the chairman of the Finance Committee for the 83rd session, was elected speaker of Congress, edging out junior Matt O'Brien by an 11-10 vote in a runoff election.

The runoff election occurred after neither Larson, O'Brien nor sophomore Blair Sweeney received a majority vote.

In a speech delivered to members of Congress before the vote, Larson pledged to make sure special elections are held every month to eliminate empty congressional seats. "I don't believe there is a good reason all of these seats should not be filled," he said. "Students should have as much representation as possible."

Larson said he will work with the speaker pro tem, who usually handles administrative duties, to generate student interest in running for the vacant seats.

Larson also said he will dedicate extra effort to groom the speaker pro tem for a leadership role because he might graduate in December.

O'Brien retained his position as speaker pro tem, which he held during the 83rd session, by a vote of 14-6 over Sweeney.

O'Brien said that he is enthusiastic about filling the expanded role that Larson envisions for the speaker pro tem and that he will work with the executive branch of student government and student organizations to raise interest in Congress within the student body.

"As a member of Congress, it's really hard to get in touch with your constituency, but that's one of our biggest responsibilities," O'Brien said.

Members of Congress also elected committee chairmen for the 84th session. Graduate student Daniel Herman was elected Ethics Committee chairman, freshman Natalie Russell was elected Finance Committee chairwoman, Sweeney was elected Rules and Judiciary Committee chairman, and junior Carey Richter was elected student affairs chairwoman. The only lengthy debate during the meeting was about the election of Russell, who former Speaker Mark Townsend said would not be qualified for such a large role given her limited experience serving on Congress.

But Russell said she feels capable of leading the finance committee, which is responsible for appropriating nearly $275,000 in student activity fees to student organizations. Russell was then elected by a 19-1 vote over Sweeney, who said he did not want the position.

After being elected, Larson said he hopes Congress will take an active role in improving student life under his leadership. "I want to step up and take on an issue proactively," Larson said. "Congress should not just wait for the executive branch to always take action first."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.