Politics in Texas has always been a little spicier than in other states, but that is no reason for shady tactics during the UH Student Government Association Spring 2009 election.
Tuesday night, The Daily Cougar received a tip that the ‘Red Now’ party was at the Cougar Den bar on campus and was offering free drinks in exchange for votes.
The caller asked for the managing editor of The Daily Cougar and identified himself as Lyle Hood, Engineering Senator 2 and Red Now party member. Upon disconnecting, a Cougar staff member called Hood to verify his identity.’
Hood verified he was at the Cougar Den, but denied calling The Daily Cougar.’ The managing editor confirmed Hood’s voice was different from that of the still-unidentified tipster.
A Cougar staffer investigated the report and confirmed with the bartender that there were no ‘drinks for votes’ in progress, but merely an informal get-together with candidates.
While presidential candidate Alex Obregon was speaking with the staffer, an anonymous female entered the Den, took a photograph of Obregon and the staffer and quickly left the bar.’
The photographer ran away and got into a car, which quickly sped away. The driver was recognized as presidential candidate and Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Senior senator 1 Joshua Evans.
Evans could not be reached for comment – the phone number listed for Evans in the UH student directory is disconnected.
Anonymous tips, misdirection, attack photography and speeding cars hardly add up to transparency or respect for the election process. SGA has a mandate to act as the student voice at UH, and while that may be a smaller job than a city or state-elected office, it still deserves better treatment than this.
As the late Molly Ivins said, ‘Good thing we’ve still got politics in Texas – finest form of free entertainment ever invented.’
The Daily Cougar was treated to a ringside seat at the political circus Tuesday night. Pity we can’t officially identify the clowns.
