Endorsements Begin To Factor In Council Race

As voting in the Undergraduate Council's presidential race begins at midnight tonight, student groups are lining up behind their favorite candidates, with Stephen N. Smith '02 garnering the most endorsements overall and Paul A. Gusmorino '02 earning the support of many current council members.

Almost every night since the campaign began last week, the candidates have been making the rounds of group meetings, vying for endorsements and explaining their platforms to students.

Smith has earned endorsements from the Harvard Democrats and the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters' Alliance (BGLTSA).

"Board members were particularly impressed by Smith-Coleman's demonstrated commitment to issues affecting the BGLT community, including a consistently BGLT-friendly voting record," said BGLTSA chair Albert A. Cho '01.

Smith has also received endorsements from the liberal magazine Perspective, Delta Upsilon, the Progressive Jewish Alliance and the public service organization EMPOWER. Four smaller public service groups also endorsed Smith, including several with which Smith is involved.

Gusmorino has overwhelming support among current council members.

Thirty of the about 40 current council members responded to an e-mail survey asking about their preferences in the current race. Sixteen members--over half of the respondents--said they supported Gusmorino, with Steve Smith drawing seven votes and Barkley drawing four.

Zanotelli, Bash and Averell were the only council members to express support for their respective tickets. (Three current council members are on the election commission and prohibited from expressing a preference.)

"We've seen Paul having the most tangible effect on the council since our term began," said Shira S. Simon '04, one of the eight first-year members who expressed support for Gusmorino. "He's always the workhorse behind events."

Two first-year members endorsed Smith, and none endorsed another candidate.

Smith's most prominent supporter on the council--current President Fentrice D. Driskell '01--has declined to formally endorse his campaign, saying she does not want to hurt other candidates' feelings. However, she is actively campaigning for Smith, postering and going door-to-door, in addition to soliciting other endorsements for Smith.

"Everyone who I've spoken to, I've made it clear that as president I'm not endorsing anyone. I want to leave that off the council floor," Driskell said. "It's fine if people are aware of what I'm doing as a friend of Steve and James."

Group endorsements seemed to play a key role in the landslide victory of Driskell and her running-mate John A. Burton '01 last year. They were endorsed by the Black Students Association (BSA), the Black Men's Forum, Perspective and the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS), among others.

Yesterday, Gusmorino also received an endorsement from the Harvard Computing Society (HCS), of which he is a member.

"Paul is a true Renaissance man," said HCS President David J. Mitby '01. "This is the kind of guy who understands the need for students to save money on textbooks, organizes its publicity campaign and, as a bonus, can tell all of us CS-folks that the search is an NP-complete problem that was solved with special optimization."

Gusmorino's only other endorsement comes from Digitas, another computing group.

He has been ranked the second choice of a variety of groups, spanning a wide ideological range.

Both the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) and the Harvard Democrats told their members to rank Gusmorino second in the presidential race. He also finished second for the liberal magazine Perspective's endorsement.

Under the council's election system, which uses the Single Transferable Vote system, voters rank all candidates, without endangering their first-place pick.

Last Friday, Justin A. Barkley '02 received the first choice endorsement of the Harvard Republican Club (HRC)--the first group to issue an endorsement.

In a surprise move, the HRC endorsed Sujean S. Lee '03, running-mate of Paul A. Gusmorino '02, for vice president over Adam. M. Johnson '02, Barkley's running-mate.

B.J. Averell '02 and Matthew Zanotelli '02, the only presidential candidates to receive no endorsements, said they have sought them less actively than other candidates. They said they have gone only to meetings they were invited to.

Both campaigns say they are appealing to constituencies that do not normally get involved in council elections.

"We're not really relying on endorsements," said Zanotelli's running-mate, John F. Bash '03. "We're looking to constituencies that don't usually participate."

"We have more confidence in the individual voters to make the right decision and not to act out of devotion to a group," Averell said.

Some groups, which also usually remain apolitical have found creative ways of getting around "endorsing" candidates.

The Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society (HSPDS) praised Johnson, who is a member, but sought to avoid a formal endorsement.

"As a side note, since HSPDS is not in the practice of formally endorsing UC candidates, there will be no formal endorsement of Adam Monty Johnson '02, team member and all-around good guy, nor will there be mention of the fact that persons interested in helping out his campaign should email him," a recent newsletter read.

--Staff writer Garrett M. Graff can be reached at ggraff@fas.harvard.edu