Meza-Roa during a board meeting on Jan. 18, 2019. // Photo by Oliver Hamlin
The student body voted in favor of recalling Associated Students Vice President for Business and Operations Genaro Meza-Roa from the position he was elected to last spring. The former AS Vice President’s recall will take effect immediately, according to the AS Elections website.
The election closed at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4 with 92.27 percent of voters in favor of the recall and 7.72 percent against the recall, with 1,449 students participating in the special election.
Meza-Roa, who ran unopposed in the original election for the position, was accused by several AS employees of failing to satisfy the requirements of his job, according to a previous Western Front article. Accusations included being tardy to or absent from meetings and trainings.
Additional accusations were published in an AS Review article during the final hours of the election. The article describes a former Western student accusing Meza-Roa of harassment, both through text messaging and in person, after the former student declined unwanted sexual advances from Meza-Roa. The former student filed a no-contact directive against Meza-Roa, which Meza-Roa had previously denied existed in an interview with the AS Review.
An additional election will be held to fill the position. Students who are interested in running can start the process immediately by contacting AS Elections Coordinator Alec Willis, according to the AS Elections website. The election could begin on Feb. 18 at the earliest, Willis said in an email. The official timeline will be discussed by the AS Board of Directors at the next meeting and announced soon, Willis said.
The recall election for Meza-Roa was initiated after the AS Board of Directors voted 6-1 in favor of impeachment on Jan. 18, according to a previous Western Front article.
