KCOU endorses Fessehaye/Abell slate
KCOU/88.1 FM program director and chief engineer Jonathan Hutcheson posted on the KCOU Web site today endorsing MSA candidates Joe Fessehaye and Lindsey Abell.
The endorsement also appeared on the savekcou.org Web site, which Hutcheson manages.
Hutcheson said he reviewed MSA election bylaws before posting an endorsement of Fessehaye/Abell, and said he saw no legal issues with posting the blog.
The station is an auxilary of MSA and receives most of its budget from the organization.
He said he feels KCOU's endorsement is comparable to any other media outlet endorsement of a particular slate.
"I found absolutely nothing that says otherwise," Hutcheson said of the bylaws.
The BEC handbook section on MSA resources states:
"Offices, equipment, etc. of the Missouri Students Association are for official use and may not be used for campaigning."
Board of Elections Commissioner Justin Mohn agreed, "As I remember, the section specifically says that candidates can't use auxiliaries or resources to campaign."
Mohn said that although no one had informed him of the blog post prior to The Maneater contacting him, it does not seem to break any rules Mohn has heard of, because the auxiliary decided to endorse Fessehaye/Abell on their own, without the candidates' urging.
9:46 a.m., Nov. 19, 2008
Ron Ziegler said:
Looks like you've got another Watergate on your hands...