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Battle for Student Government President included social media fighting, allegations of misconduct, then a narrow win for Perez

Photos courtesy Benowitz and Perez campaign materials

This year’s election for Student Government President turned into a fierce battle between candidates Christian Perez, former Vice President of the Student Government Association, and Madelaine Benowitz, a former senator of SGA. Perez won by just 3 votes, 26 to 23, but the candidates’ platforms were overshadowed by social media fueled tensions and allegations of misconduct on both sides. 

The initial area of contention was a letter to the editor that Perez submitted to The VOICE for the September issue. 

Although The VOICE accepts all letters to the editor from members of the community with no edits-–provided they meet length and decency standards–Benowitz responded on Instagram saying, “It is my understanding when a candidate running for an office is given press time, equal time is offered to all candidates. This did not occur in this instance and should be considered unethical.” 

She later acknowledged that she knew she had the right to submit a letter to the editor, but maintained her position that The VOICE had erred in not reaching out to her.

“For a political campaign, it’s equal time in the press. Therefore if Christian does submit a letter, the same should’ve been relayed to me, which it was afterwards,” she said.

The VOICE editors responded to Benowitz’s complaint by encouraging her to submit her own letter which was then published online. 

Both candidates utilized their letter to the editors to present their platforms.

Benowitz wrote, “This isn’t about me; this is about you. I want to allow you to have a voice to maximize your college experience.”

Perez said his priority was “to continue to give students the opportunity to enjoy what this college can offer, without missing out on the ‘college experience’ or struggling as hard financially as they would otherwise.”

When asked how they planned to accomplish their goals, Benowitz said she wanted to establish open forum SGA meetings, while Perez said he wanted to create a Discord server all Mercer students could engage in. 

Both candidates’ campaign platforms were overshadowed by the social media controversy, however, as tensions mounted over claims of unfair advantage and character attacks.

Benowitz’s candidacy became complicated after her father, Chef Frank Benowitz, a Senior Teaching Assistant in Mercer’s hospitality program, became involved. He posted a series of status updates on Facebook supporting his daughter’s campaign and encouraging anyone who saw his message to share it. 

“I fully endorse Maddie not just because she is my daughter, but because she has the leadership skills and work ethic needed to represent the students of MCCC,” he posted on September 23.

In a now deleted Facebook post he wrote, “Her opponent is running a nasty campaign now and I feel so bad for her.”

Benowitz denied her father’s influence on her campaign. Chef Benowitz went on to confirm his daughter’s campaign was entirely her own. However, Chef Benowitz did assist Benowitz’s campaign by helping her form a partnership with Brother’s Pizza in Hamilton to promote her candidacy.

The poster on her Instagram page said, “In recognition of Madelaine Benowitz running for Mercer County Community College Student Government Association President, Save 10% off with MCCC student/faculty ID.” 

When asked who reached out to establish the Brothers partnership, Chef Benowitz said, “Her and I both did.”

Adriana Matt, Coordinator II of Student Life and Leadership said, “I don’t think that a faculty member should stump for a student running for student government. I feel like that creates an unfair advantage.”

Perez also generated his fair share of social media controversy, taking to Instagram with a now-deleted post showing him holding a wrapper from candy Benowitz handed out as a part of her campaign, with the caption:  “I see my opponent’s campaigning is now littering our beautiful courtyard! Sad!” 

He later edited his post to include, “This isn’t an accusation of littering against my opponent, just pointing out the indirect result of her campaign strategy.”

Madelaine Benowitz’s campaign ultimately filed complaints with SGA saying Perez had violated campaign rules by hanging up posters past the campaigning deadline.

When asked if there were any other violations she said, “yes,” but no further comments were shared.

Perez acknowledged the error saying, “I did put flyers up on the Monday after campaigning week. However, when the concern was raised to me that those flyers were considered unfair, I did take them down the next day.”

Although Christian Perez amended his post regarding littering, he was accused of running a “nasty campaign”

He also acknowledged another campaign violation for having his campaign flyers on the Rainbow Alliance table at Club Day, as he is President of the Rainbow Alliance as well. 

As tensions continued to build, former Assistant Dean of Student Life John Simone counted the votes Friday, October 1 as a neutral party. Forty-nine votes were cast with Perez winning by a three vote margin. 

The election was held solely in person, ruling out the possibility of a virtual ballot.

“[Virtual voting] is probably a good idea going forward, but I don’t know why it was not [used] or what the circumstances were,” Simone said. 

When asked why there was no virtual election, Matt said, “I don’t think that was ever an option.” 

Danielle Garruba, Director of Student Life and Leadership, refused to comment.

Perez’s victory was announced Monday, October 4. However, the official post from Student Life has since been taken down by request of administration due to the ongoing investigations. 

In recognizing the contentiousness of this year’s election, Chef Benowitz said, “I hope they can work this stuff out.”

For her part, Benowitz said she doesn’t plan to contest the election results saying, “I haven’t fully considered the next step, whether it’s if I want to apply for another position on the team or stick to being a senator. This is my last year at Mercer. I was very passionate about student government; I still very much am.” 

As for his new position, Perez says, “The first thing on my agenda is setting up the online community that I promised. I believe that is something I can do pretty easily, even on my own, which is important because we don’t have a full cabinet right now.”

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