One of the first USG Senate meetings of the year begins with discussion over the editing of certain bylaws and procedures within the organization. The meeting had also involved a vote to impeach the Comptroller based on a charge brought forth by Operations and Risk Manager Grace Brangwynne. Photo by Matthew Pickett / The Daily Campus
The University of Connecticut’s Undergraduate Student Government voted to impeach the sitting Comptroller Dylan Nenadal on one charge of violating Article 4 of Bylaw XX Wednesday night. In his place current Chief of Staff to USG Pres. Priyanka Thakkar Walter Dodson will be the Interim-Comptroller.
“As it said on Bylaw XX section 1, 2 and 3, we chose to acquit the Comptroller, but on section 4 he was convicted, which is cause for removal,” Speaker of the Senate Josh Crow said. “So far as the Senate’s opinion, we act as one body, especially on a controversial issue like this. We will deal with the ramifications of such.”
Nenadal’s impeachment will be effective immediately, as is Dodson’s appointment.
After the vote, the following statement was released by USG:
“As of this evening, Comptroller Dylan Nenadal has been impeached and removed by the Senate due to violations of the Undergraduate Student Government bylaws. Effective immediately, Walter Dodson will take on the role of Interim-Comptroller until a new Comptroller can be voted in by the Senate. In the meantime, day-to-day operations of the Undergraduate Student Government will remain unchanged and we will continue to fulfill our role of advocating on behalf of the student.”
Prior to the start of the impeachment proceedings, USG went into executive session, which is closed to the public. The vote was done through a secret ballot, so the individual senators’ votes were not made public unless they chose to reveal it. No senators The Daily Campus spoke to were willing to go on record with their vote.
The executive session, which is granted by Connecticut state law when dealing with personnel decisions, lasted more than four hours. After the executive session adjourned, documents concerning the case were shredded.
“Some of the evidence, specifically the information concerning the defendant and some of the other members who had submitted the information, was private information,” Crow said. “We were advised by our advisors and members of the judiciary to move into executive session for the sake of their privacy and to make sure that no matter what happened that their personal life would be affected as little as possible.”
USG’s bylaw XX is its code of conduct and requires that USG members display impartiality in financial decisions they may have a conflict of interest in, that they complete the duties that are assigned to them in their job description, that they do not “abuse or misuse” the power of their position and do not neglect their duties.
“They really want to make sure there are open lines of communication,” an anonymous USG senator said.
Nenadal said he accepted the results of the vote.
“Obviously I am not happy with the results, because I am a committed member of the organization and I really dedicated my undergraduate career to them,” Nenadal said. “I do recognize that the Senate has the full authority to handle such matters and I accept the results.”
Among the other issues planned to be brought to the attention of the Senate were the semester’s budget; a statement in support of additional bottled water refill stations; a statement issued by Colleen Keller, a coordinator within UConnPIRG, supporting USG’s support of the climate strike taking place Friday; a bill concerning student development services and a resolution on academic affairs.
The only bill not brought to the attention of the Senate was the budget for the semester. The Speaker said he did not feel there was enough time for a topic of this magnitude. The date of the budget hearing is to be determined, but there was discussion of an emergency Senate next Wednesday for it.
The vote for the new comptroller will be held on Oct. 2, any student can run at this time.
President Priyanka Thakkar was adamant that going forward, it will be “business as usual.”
Related Coverage:
Students On The Stand: Impeachment Trial for USG comptroller
Mike Mavredakis is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at michael.quinn-mavredakis@uconn.edu
