Editor’s Note: Ben Bowman was the Emerald’s Opinion Editor earlier this year. He no longer works for the Emerald.
Mighty Oregon executive candidate Ben Bowman on Friday requested a stay from the ASUO Constitution Court while the body reviews his appeal to remain on the ballot following his removal by the Elections Board Thursday.
The Elections Board is requesting that Mighty Oregon replace Bowman on the ballot by Monday. His request for a stay means that the new candidate selection is delayed in order for Bowman to appeal the decision to disqualify him from running.
The Elections Board disqualified Bowman from the executive ticket after reviewing fellow presidential candidate Thomas Tullis’ grievance against the Mighty Oregon nominee. The grievance accused Bowman of intimidation and bribery.
“We are appealing the decision to the ASUO Constitution Court and want to complete the full process before sanctions are leveled against us, as is standard for legal proceedings,” Bowman wrote in his request. ”We believe that the decision making process used by the board was biased and unfairly adjudicated. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, their decision contains numerous outright lies, misquotations, and factual inaccuracies to justify their decision.”
The Elections Board’s current response on Bowman’s request for a stay is that it violates the Green Tape Notebook’s rule on ex parte contact. According to the Notebook, ex parte is when contact is made between a member of the Constitution Court and anyone who’s involved in a matter that’s pending before the Court.
“The Elections Board does not approve of the violation of ex-parte contact requirements, made by Mr. Bowman, with regards to his request for a stay on our grievance procedure,” ASUO Elections Board Coordinator MacGregor Ehlen wrote in an email to the Constitution Court. ”We would also like an appropriate amount of time to respond to this request before any decision is made. Additionally, we ask that Mr. Bowman follow proper procedure when contacting the Constitution Court throughout this process.”
According to Bowman, the request for a stay is a formal request and it is not considered as communication with the court regarding a pending matter.
Bowman says that he still plans on filing an appeal, and that it will be sent to the court by Friday night. The court’s decision on Bowman’s request for a stay and Ehlen’s accusations of Bowman violating ex parte are still pending.
Follow Craig Garcia on Twitter @CraiGarcia.