With a cheesy ODT photoshoot and a big wide grin, on Wednesday, May 21st OUSA’s Political Representative Jett Groshinski announced his Labour-endorsed bid to stand for Local Body Elections (LBE). Over the course of two (rather tense) Exec meetings, they have collectively decided on a conflict of interest plan to ensure that the politically overachieving youth doesn't paint the campus red with his campaign. There were talks of resignation, but Jett beat the corruption allegations: he’s here to stay.
This isn’t the first time that Jett has run for council. In 2022, he ran for the chance to adorn the glitzy mayoral chains. Jett told Critic Te Ārohi at the time that he’d noticed students in North D felt separate from the rest of the city. He wanted to be in a position where he could “make meaningful change in Dunedin” and ensure students had a say on issues beyond parking change proposals on Harbour Terrace and local liquor licensing.
Jett’s endorsement this time round wasn’t only news to ODT’s loyal audience of Facebook shitposters and your mum. Other than President Liam White, the rest of the OUSA Exec had no idea of his intentions to run for council until seeing the article shortly before their weekly Exec meeting. After the obligatory congratulations for a student showing some political gumption and jumping the gun on career ladder-climbing (congrats, Jett) the Exec entered confidential committee (i.e., Critic can’t report on what they say) where they discussed the potential ramifications and conflicts of interest between running for council and being Political Rep.
At the meeting – one featuring dropped lips on par with being the last in the friend group to hear the tea – Jett was tasked with the homework of making a ‘Conflict of Interest Management Plan’ to be discussed at the next meeting on the 28th. The five-page document he cooked up showed in detail how his candidacy for Dunedin City Councillor wouldn’t jeopardise OUSA’s neutrality, nor his contracted hours and deliverables. As Political Rep, Jett would have been expected to spearhead the Local Body Elections Campaign, including tasks like hosting candidate forums and informing the student body about the candidates. However, being a Labour candidate himself means a clear conflict of interest. The campaign period could also eat into his expected 10 hours per week as Political Rep.
In the document, Jett laid out his expected workload during Semester Two. Currently, he spends 40 hours per week on university study and 10 hours on OUSA duties. To accommodate the predicted 10 hours of campaign work next semester, he will be reducing his study by dropping his papers from four to two. As Political Rep, he noted that some preparatory work for the Local Body Elections Campaign has been done, such as developing a Student Charter to measure candidates against for their benefit to students if elected, and he would delegate further work to either Liam or Finance and Strategy Officer Daniel “to ensure a clear and accountable separation between my candidacy and OUSA’s electoral engagement.”
During the campaign period, Jett would dedicate his time instead to “delivering one or two high-impact, advocacy campaigns”. He listed the options of 1) a ‘Stop the Cuts’ campaign focused on protecting teaching quality and course offerings at Otago; 2) ‘Universal Student Allowance’ calling for the removal of means-testing for fairer financial support for students; and 3) ‘Free Tertiary Education’ to push for long-term structural change in tertiary funding. “These campaigns are entirely separate from any election-related activity,” he wrote.
Jett laid out four options for a path forward, ranging from Option A: “Baseline Separation” to Option D: “Full Resignation” with two variations in between. Jett’s preferred option was A, where he would continue as Political Rep, with another Exec member taking the lead on LBE Campaign, a new Political Action Committee chair would be elected, DCC submissions would be delegated to Liam, and all media comments would be routed to Liam as well. The Exec went around the room to discuss their positions on the matter, with Liam ensuring to note his conflict of interest being both Labour-affiliated himself and having encouraged Jett to run. He moved the Chair to Welfare and Equity Rep Amy Whyman for the discussion.
Daniel was the first to give his two cents. As someone who had at a previous Exec meeting noted that they all looked “tired as fuck” with their current responsibilities, he didn’t appear pleased with the idea of taking on more work in light of Jett’s new endeavour. He also called the other campaigns Jett had listed to be a “pipe dream”, which Te Rōpū Māori Tumuaki Ngātiki later agreed. From Daniel’s perspective, the most important campaign for the Political Rep to be working on in an election year was the LBE Campaign, where OUSA has a unique position compared to other associations to influence students to engage in LBE.
Academic Rep Stella (who was video calling) and her flatmate Admin Vice President Amy were on the same page in their opposition to Jett continuing as Political Rep. Stella reiterated Daniel’s point that the LBE Campaign was “so important” given historically low voter turnout among students: “We need a Political Rep who can front all of this.” Amy noted that listed under the duties of the Political Rep it states “in an election year coordinate politics week and election campaigns”, which Jett would not be able to fulfil as well as a new person if they were to hold a bi-election for a replacement. Speaking directly to Jett, Amy said, “[It’s] nothing against you, it’s just against the situation and I think the situation could have been handled a lot better [...] I don’t think Option A is the best option for the Exec.”
International Rep Buki called himself a “consequentialist” to explain his general stance that he prioritised the work getting done, so he didn’t mind who made that happen. What he was worried about was the faff of having to hold a bi-election for a replacement if Jett were to resign, which would take time and money, and drop a newbie in the deep-end midway through an election year. Amy W agreed with this point. She added that she was concerned that no students would run for the role if they were to hold a bi-election: “We either have someone in that role, or we possibly don’t.”
Liam was significantly more optimistic about the situation than his Execcies. “I think it’s an entirely manageable conflict,” he said. “The document speaks to how well-prepared this is.” He also added that they had consulted with “seasoned politicians” like Grant Robertson who had agreed the conflict was manageable. Liam said he would “strongly endorse” Option A, which keeps Jett’s “wisdom” on the Political Action Committee and would “strongly steer” the Exec away from compelling a resignation: “I don’t think that’s fair.” Liam was willing to handle the DCC submissions that Jett wouldn’t be able to write himself, of which there are only a handful coming up.
Postgrad Rep Josh and Clubs and Socs Rep Deborah were in agreement that it was a bit of a shit situation all ‘round where the Exec were faced with “two unideal options”. Josh joked that no matter what they did, they shouldn’t be too worried about the optics since students don’t seem to care about what the Exec do anyway (the 95-page document of Referendum comments Critic got our hands on would say otherwise). While the other Exec members added their thoughts, Critic spotted the fuming Stella holding up a piece of paper in the tablet video frame saying, “JETT RESIGN”. Amy M, the only other person in the tablet’s eyesight, was smiling at her.
Jett left the meeting at 9:50am to dash across campus to Archway for a test. Before he left, he said he had attempted to include as much information in the document as possible in order to be held accountable. When everyone had said their piece, it was time to put it to a vote. After some more faffing about with confidential committees, an increasingly red-faced Liam called a vote. The result: Option A (six for, one against, and two abstaining). And because he can’t end a heated meeting any other way, Liam signed off with his trademark, “That was a good robust discussion.” He then “cleansed the space” with metaphorical burning sage before moving on to the rest of the agenda for the day.