An emergency meeting was called Sunday to fill several ASUA positions.
The Associated Students of the University of Arizona Executive Vice President Katherine Weingartner arranged an extra meeting of the ASUA Senate on Sunday to confirm two Appropriations Board directors and the executive vice president’s chief of staff.
If the seats were left open, the ASUA Appropriations Board would be unable to conduct its weekly meetings to distribute funding to campus clubs and organizations. As a result, the groups would be without funding for two weeks, due to Labor Day coming up next Monday.
The two previously appointed directors left over scheduling and time management conflicts, according to Weingartner.
Leah Edwards and Mitchell Manburg were hired by Weingartner on Saturday and trained for their positions on Sunday. They were approved by the ASUA Senate and will begin activities today in the board’s meeting. The Executive Vice President’s Chief of Staff Jason Brown was also confirmed during the senate’s meeting for purposes of practicality. Brown, she said, is experienced in the political realm, having worked for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
None of the three newly confirmed staff members belonged to the association previously.
The board is still not complete. The last spot has yet to be filled, and a third process for applications should be open sometime next week, Weingartner stated.
The Standards Board, which reviews complaints related to clubs and organizations, also has at least two spots available, according to Weingartner, although the application process hasn’t started yet. During the senate’s meeting, Sen. Lindsay Hartgraves mentioned interviews would be conducted on Sept. 3 for senatorial aides positions.
There is an on-going application process for the Freshman Class Council.
Hartgraves said she “”completely trusts (Weingartner’s) opinion of people”” and their capacity, as far as the new hires were concerned.
Edwards, one of the two appropriation directors, is a UA freshman, and, according to Weingartner, has potential and desire to work on things beyond the board itself, such as a plan to simplify ASUA’s bylaws so that the entire UA student community is aware of and understands them clearly.
