Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Party Leader Speaks


TheRaDiKaL: Ok Sam, let's get the intro question out of the way. When did you arrive at UF, where from, what clubs were you initially involved with, are you Greek (why or why not?), and why on Earth did you get involved in Student Government?

Sam Miorelli: I arrived at UF in the Fall of 2005 from Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School. I’ve lived in Florida my entire life. I’m not Greek primarily because when I rushed with my friend we never got a compelling answer at any of the houses (and we visited them all) to the question: “what makes (insert greek letters here) different?” Everyone’s answer was “well, uh, we’ve got brotherhood!” I’m a PIKE and Theta Chi legacy which makes for much hilarity at the idea of me becoming a frat brother of Kevin Reilly among SG circles.

My involvement in SG seemed pretty natural after leaving high school, though when I got here I had no idea what was going on. I was involved in SGA at my high school extensively: I rewrote our school’s constitution and was one of two students who convinced the Brevard County School Board to change their policy on students carrying cell phones on campus with a proposed policy which we wrote and implemented at Cocoa Beach. When I got to UF though, I had no idea what SG party politics was like. I lived in Hume and wanted to run in the Fall so I went to slating. The Assistant Supervisors of Elections basically told me that I should slate Gator because they were a better party and Gator led me directly out of the slating room and into their offices. I was interviewed by Laura Gonzalez and left convinced that I’d be picked. I didn’t even know another party existed, I just thought it was some sort of school spirit thing that made for good graphics.

Honestly even if I hadn’t been slated I might’ve worked for Gator if they’d treated me well. Instead they didn’t even to e-mail to tell me that I wasn’t slated until about 4pm the day after slates were announced and by that time my friend Joe Trimboli had already found out that Impact had slated him and Gator hadn’t slated me. I ran as an independent candidate and lost miserably but learned tons about how SG works in the process. Along the way Tommy Jardon explained the FBK-SG-DSO connections and I’ve been pretty much hooked as an anti-system crusader ever since.



TheRaDiKaL: Getting right into it, give us the inside scoop on the momentary defection of Sen. Eric Wolf. Some and what, if anything, did YOU do PERSONALLY to keep him in the ranks of the Orange & Blue Party?



Sam Miorelli: Eric is a turncoat, plain and simple. I’ve seen this type of person in indie politics so many times it makes me sick. They join because they want a t-shirt and a bunch of resume lines. Essentially they work on the indie campaign for the same reason Gator’s people do: their own personal gain.

His work ethic during the campaign was nearly nonexistent and no sooner was he elected than he was out having lunch with Ryan Day (turncoats stick together I guess). We knew a rat was up and did our best to have handlers at their liaisons to keep an eye on things. Basically as long as O&B wanted to play pussy with Gator and not make anyone mad, Eric was all for it. As far as I was concerned Eric was dead to me when he cut Ben Dictor’s knees out from under him on the Aramark issue from his Judiciary Committee to try and co-opt the Orange and Blue Party. When his defeat was finally sealed he picked sour grapes over our platform and disaffiliated specifically to try and prevent me from serving on R&A and asking questions that his buddy Kellie thinks are either inappropriate for R&A (like asking someone applying for the Budget Committee if they know where the finance regulations are in Statutes).

After the impeachment hearing where he joined Gator in their vote even against the factuality of an 800 code he was asking Kellie how to get integrated into Gator and know which way they’d want him to vote on things. I’ve known he was going to join the Gator Party sooner or later and I think his lack of personal conviction in cleaning up SG and preference for convenience at the cost of student interest will find a nice home in the Gator Party. His “independence” (he has yet to have the balls to officially register Gator) is a testament to his lack of conviction in anything but his own self-importance; he is a system tool through and through.





TheRaDiKaL: Orange & Blue fielded Tommy Jardon for president. Jardon is perhaps the last member of the Old Guard and a fine selection for SBP, though he was consistently overlooked in favor of less than stellar candidates. Will Sam Miorelli step up to the plate in '09 as a serious candidate for the O&B presidential nomination? Explain this one thoroughly please.

Sam Miorelli: I am currently scheduled to graduate in May 2009 so unless I stay at UF for law school, running for SBP is out of the cards. Additionally I’ve always said I would not be willing to run unless it was a true online election. I think those two requirements pretty much rule out 2009 for me but stranger things have happened and expedited review by the 1st DCA certainly helps.(Taks LSATS in December, apply by deadline, and you're eligible, that's what Jennifer Puckett did with grad school).



TheRaDiKaL: To what extent, if any, has Orange & Blue been able to forge working-relationships with members of, or, the Gator Party itself. What pieces of legislation stand as a hallmark of your bi-partisan efforts to date?

Sam Miorelli: Once upon a time I honestly considered myself to be friends with many of the Gator Party’s top brass. As freshmen many of us worked together in agencies or campaigned good-naturedly side by side. However as I have seen them age and gain power, they have become like all the others: willing to lie, cheat, and even break the law to achieve their political goals. I respect people who are honest with me and themselves, unfortunately that trait is nearly nonexistent among the Gator Party. There are still a few good apples, some of whom I predict will be joining us in the Fall, but in consideration of their own safety and that of their student organizations (yes, Gator still intimidates student groups with threats of budget cuts) I’ll leave them nameless until they make the change known themselves.

That said, we had some major successes on a few 700 Code reforms and getting rid of a few salaries for SG officials this summer as we worked with Gator. I look forward to using a strong showing in the Fall election to advance on our charge against SG salaries, cell phones, and the dozens of other places where money is wasted.




TheRaDiKaL: How would you rate the Senate leadership under President Kellie Dale? How often are the rules suspended for trivial matters, how fair is she as a presiding officer?

Sam Miorelli: Kellie is a pretty abysmal Senate President. Her knowledge of Robert’s Rules, Rules and Procedures, Statutes, and the Constitution are elementary at best. She regularly makes the wrong ruling on questions of parliamentary procedure and her methods of handling votes whereby she essentially calls the vote in whatever favor she wants it to go regardless of whether or not the whole Gator Party might’ve voted the other way is difficult to believe. Most of her colleagues seem to share similarly low opinions of her performance thus far at any sort of leadership from the Senate and I think her job performance here could be a serious limitation on her chances at getting the FBK nod for running for Student Body President. That said, I’m told Nikki Fried is pushing or her so maybe there are chances after all.


TheRaDiKaL: Who are the real loud mouths and/or jerks from the Gator Party that give your senators the hardest time and/or openly berate you? Please name them and describe their tactics as elaborately as possible.

Sam Miorelli: I would say that each of us has a different “favorite” for this, but to me, the worst by far is Jimmy Carelsen. His philosophy, as best I can tell, is something akin to “we’re always right and if you say otherwise I’ll move to remove you from chambers.” He is almost always the first one to try to limit or cut off debate; especially when the facts are damaging for Gator.


TheRaDiKaL: To date, what has been a vote or stance you've taken on an issue or resolution, that you would like to take back or relive - and why?

Sam Miorelli: I’m a pretty instinctual guy when it comes to SG issues: I know what I’d want as a student and I can smell a Gator Party move for political patronage a mile away. I’m proud of my record in Senate and in the Orange and Blue Party and look forward to taking that record to the voters.


TheRaDiKaL: Ok, let's discuss Student Body Treasurer Paul Drayton. Do you find it unethical that once knowing he'd won office that he'd even apply to an out-of-state summer-long internship? Focusing only on his employment decision(s) and role as SBT, please share give your thoughts.

Sam Miorelli: To me this is a prime example of just how screwed up SG is. Drayton gets a wonderful opportunity at JP Morgan that will certainly advance his career. Anybody would pick the internship, and yet instead of focusing all of his time on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he keeps grasping at power to the very end. The claims that his internship is somehow going to educate him and make him a better Student Body Treasurer are just offensive to the intelligence of all Gators. Drayton wanted to have it both ways and typically Gator backed him up. The losers in all of this, as usual, are the students and organizations that enter the Fall three months behind in planning their programming and budgets.


TheRaDiKaL: Do you believe that the Student Body Constitution allows the SBT to arbitrarily create positions out of thin air and rule by proxy? What do you think about the Student Body President giving official statements to the Independent Florida Alligator that clearly counter the Student Body Constitution? Should Reilly be censured or found in contempt of the Student Senate?

Sam Miorelli: Obviously this “interpretation” of the Constitution is more properly termed an “imagination.” Again, I’d like to think we’d be shocked by this but Gator has been pulling these shenanigans for years with the support of the SG “professional” staff and the implicit support of Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin who time and again refuses to stop them and protect the students from their own Student Government run amok.


TheRaDiKaL: Would you consider pushing your party to file Articles of Impeachment against Brett Roth, the absent-Director of Chomp the Vote?

Sam Miorelli: I’m not entirely sure how we would go about handling the Chomp the Vote issue but unfortunately time is not on the students’ side here. Chomp the Vote has done nothing all summer and even if we were to remove Roth I’m not sure we’d get a better replacement in time to register students to vote before the election. Kevin Reilly has forced us to trust him and Brett on this matter. So far every time I’ve had to trust Kevin that something would happen right or properly I’ve gotten burned so I’m expecting nothing less than ineptitude from the Reilly administration on this too.


TheRaDiKaL: Given the honorable resignation of Vice President Lydia Washington, do you feel that from Boyles to Moseley to Reilly that each consecutive System administration has become more and more blatant insofar as their abuse of power and less concerned with any possible repercussions their decision-making may have on the future of Student Government and the well-being of the Student Body? Please expound.

Sam Miorelli: Each is a product of the last. They see what the last was able to get away with and think they can take it one step further. Again this is something that you would expect that Dr. Telles-Irvin, who regularly talks about SG as a “leadership organization,” would want to stop if for no other reason than to protect the integrity of the organization she oversees. So far though, it seems that nothing short of a court order or a massive electoral defeat will solve the problems we have in SG.

TR's Word Association!

Frank Bracco: Hardest worker in SG
Paul Drayton: Power hungry egotist
Will Foster: Hilarious, off to greener pastures
Kellie Dale: Inept, little regard for the law
Eric Wolf: desperately wants to be a “cool kid”
Cain Norris: energetic but a campaign unknown
Jimmy Carlsen: self congratulatory and fears debate
Daniele D'Oyley: disregards her biggest duties for politics
Mary Grace Bell: expert in doublethink
"GLENDA”: thinks she’s in charge, destructive
The Independent Florida Alligator: their vigilance is our only hope for reform
Bernie Machen: wrong priorities, uninformed, replaced soon
Tommy Jardon: cynical old war horse, my friend
Orange & Blue Party: hardest working, brilliant, ideological friends
Sam Miorelli: just trying to make SG respectable while I’m here

54 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think the pictures say more about Sam than his responses...

Anonymous said...

This is a good interview.

"Given the honorable resignation of Vice President Lydia Washington..."

I know that you were still only a couple years out of UF at the time, Christian, but there was nothing honorable about the way Lydia conducted herself at the Senate meeting she resigned at. Admittedly, there was very little honorable about the way she was forced to resign, but honor has little currency among fake journalists such as ourselves.

Anonymous said...

everything miorelli says = horse shit

Anonymous said...

Glenda is destructive????

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Glenda is the class of the organization and the institutional memory that keeps the place running.

Destructive? Geez that guy really doesn't have a clue does he?

Anonymous said...

I've always understood Sam's point that Glenda has an incentive to protect the majority as they're the ones who pay her salary and bring her all sorts of cool gifts and stuff, but I've never believed that she does. I think this complaint is just another of the many unfounded jousts the ruling minority throws around in an attempt to seem more iconoclastic and disrespectful than ever before.

This, of course, gives them the attention they so richly crave and as a result justifies such behaviour. Silly kids.

Anonymous said...

That and Sam has a simply terrible opinion of "public servants" such as Glenda, and has never once (from what I've heard) been particularly polite in his dealings with her. As a result, Glenda doesn't much care for him, which is obviously indicative of some deep-seated bias she has against Mr. Miorelli and his cohorts.

Anonymous said...

anon 7:15 is Moseley or some other Brit and I claim my 5 pounds!

Glenda is the only part of the interview where Sam isn't spot on!

Anonymous said...

What I've gathered from Sam on the subject is not that he thinks that Glenda protects the Gator Party from the worst of their incompetence by telling them how things are supposed to done.

Now IMO that is kind of her job ...

Anonymous said...

I am officially starting a chapter of "We Hear Sam!" Thank godsomeone understands what is going on here at UF

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:50

You can be the President and I'll be the Treasurer. We'll go register with the CSI and apply for SG funding.

Anonymous said...

As someone who is neutral between both sides, I believe Sam Miorelli is a great leader. He has stuck up for me in the past in SG and I appreciate anyone with that kind of backbone. Love him or hate him, the guy has a serious passion for getting shit done right in the Senate. That's hard to find these days...

Anonymous said...

Sam Miorelli should run SBP, I'd vote for him.

francisco said...

I would just like to note that I am, infact, not unbiased...I may not have registered with a party but I do have my opinions and I am not affraid to state them.

Just in case anyone was going to try and make a connection there...

Anonymous said...

Was O&B really toying of having Glenda transferred out of Student Government?

Anonymous said...

No one's ever cared what Bracco had to say why start now? *chirp* *chirp*

Anonymous said...

I heard Miorelli wanted to defund BSU.

Anonymous said...

Miorelli/Bracco '09!!!

Anonymous said...

even better: Miorelli/Renfroe '09!!!
"tomorrow starts today!"

Bruce Haupt said...

I take it all back, can I be in the Armada on the bluetooth? :)

Anonymous said...

He also wants to conduct across-the-board zero-based budgeting, which you'd probably think means everyone gets "defunded."

I hope he stays here for law school and keeps the fire on these people. Who knows, maybe he'll finally be the one to fix things around here. Lord knows we've waited long enough!

Anonymous said...

Sam and Glenda will reconcile when Sam is employing Glenda next year.

Anonymous said...

How come nobody uses "today starts tomorrow" as a slogan?

Anonymous said...

Jardon used to be Gator, who's he to talk about anything?

francisco said...

I like zero-based budgeting, quite a competitive system...creates results!

anon. 11:20PM, you know so little. This video will answer all your questions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQm0Z4C0BW0

Anonymous said...

you should try to let kellie and eric respond

Anonymous said...

That video will live in INFAMY Frank. Somebody should ask Sam to unembargo the original take of Tommy's interview, he edited it very carefully to reduce how combustable the comments were.

Anonymous said...

Wow Christian actually had a good idea. Naadira would make a great party president for Gator. I think she's really proven herself with the SOAR committee.

Nice for you to take a break from your normal slander of her.

Anonymous said...

francisco, it is very common knowledge amongst indies and system cogs alike that Jardon tried to jump ship but failed stupendously

he tried to sell out as a tool of the system and was greeted as one upon his return

it's true what they say, you can never really go home

the true jardon story will be told in full someday, but that day is not today, so carry on with your false assumptions

francisco said...

I am well aware of the "Jardon Story", but you cannot understand the whole picture without seeing that great video :-).

Anonymous said...

Would somebody please tell the indies the Jardon story. I'd love for them to find out that their hero is a lying piece of shit.

Anonymous said...

the idea of naadira talking to the media is an orange and blue wet dream. lets her a little bit more about her plan to apportion senate seats based on who actually votes rather than by population

Christian Duque said...

There is a "Jardon Story," but let me assure you that Tommy's momentary lapse of judgment can hardly undo all the good he's done for the independent community. Tommy has paid his dues and has enough cred in the movement to lend to turncoats like Day, Cruts, & Simmons to bring them back to the point where they can break even. Imagine that.

I attacked Tommy probably harder than anyone else, but you can't taint the man's legacy by one move of a few weeks against years of grunt work and leadership. I believe there's still a few surprises left with ole Jardon.

#2 Per Josh Simmons; as most of you have seen, I've lifted his ban. I figure if he's so determined to post on TheRadikal.com, might as well let him, who wants to be the Jimmy Carlssen of the blogging world anyway?

#3 GLENDA. I like Glenda and I believe she fulfills an important function in the Student Government offices. Without Glenda, I think a great deal of the organizational structure of SG would be missing. However, I do not belive she belongs at Senate meetings, as she is not an elected official. I have also have issue with the fact that she hold honorary membership in Florida Blue Key, which I perceive to be a plausible conflict of interests.

#4 I am not concerned with what other blogs have to say about the TR. Blog for a year and then I'll consider going to war with you... for now, I think we've seen one Russian Invasion of Georgia to satisfy us for the year.


#5 O&B & Naadira! This is certainly an interesting concept. Naadira is hot right now. Only weeks ago, it was being discussed at high levels of Gator to remove her from the R&A Committee. Naadira & I shared a cordial email exchange, where I explained a few things to her, namely how the System wouldn't dare make an example of her.

Renfroe enjoys Drayton-backing, but stock prices have changed - markedly! Drayton pre-Impeachment was a big fish, but post-Impeachment he's arguably more powerful than the Student Body President. Top sources in FBK claim that Drayton will pull one more shenanigan off in December...

In any event, Renfroe as Gator Party President could spell disaster for Jordan Johnson's presidential ambitions. If he passes on Renfroe, then it opens up the possibility some graduated GDI's are floating, that Naadira might cross over, but not as a veep candidate.

Naadira Renfroe will be the first (to my knowledge) African American woman Student Body President. I think '09 might be too soon, but then again there's no rule that says the SBT must graduate the year he/she ends his presidential term.

Question is...would Naadira run with Jordan or Kellie and if posed with option of running with O&B in a coaltion, why would she and/or why should she take veep or SBT spot when her backing might be the heaviest of the grouping?

I also want this for the record. I won't post weight-comments::: GROW UP!::: Weight is immaterial, it's about ideas, integrity, and track record. If you need to trash someone because of their weight, go to blogs with 150+ comments per post, where anything goes.

Here we moderate and despite what you may have heard about TheRadikal.com, this is the #1 SG Blog on the web, so if you're an ass go take a dump somewhere else. :)

Anonymous said...

shenanigan, funny word.

Naadira and O&B would never happen, never.

O&B would rather run Reilly than Naadira and we all no that is never going to happen.

Christian Duque said...

The same was said about Jamal, but even more pointedly, take Jared Hernandez. If the option opens for a serious presidential run, then a System stalwart will start walkin for a chance to get to the big dance.

Anonymous said...

There are seven people who know the true Jardon story. Four are Turncoats, who the Indies will never believe, and three are Old Guard, who will never admit to anything beyond Christian's rose-tinted facade.

Anonymous said...

Miorelli and David know the story and they informed little boys. Everyone knows Tommy is lazy and was just looking for an easy position.

Anonymous said...

Jardon is a professional credit taker, he has no other skill set in life; other people do all the leg work, all the ground work, all the "grunt work", and he swoops in and takes all the spoils, runs off with all the credit

he has demonstrated this over and over again in every facet of his life

many in the Indie party are disappointed with Sam as a leader because he works his ass off and then gets down on his hands and knees and practically grovels at Tommy's feet for Tommy to take full credit or co-credit for all the hard work he has just done

Sam is also inexplicably terrified of Tommy and refuses to throw him under the bus when it has become clear he's a useless sack of shit

Tommy tried to throw Sam under the bus with Progress and abandoned the whole movement but Sam and some other party faithful kept the whole thing alive and going. it was their work that kept the flame burning

Tommy has never been the backbone of anything in his life, even in non-SG stuff there has always been somebody else in the background actually doing the work he takes credit for (::cough:: Leslie ::cough::)

your undying support and adulation for Tommy Jardon is disappointing and misguided Christian

Anonymous said...

LOL Naadira and those indie losers?
Please.

Anonymous said...

It's such a great story, too.

Oh well.

Anonymous said...

Just a pretty interesting article that reminded me of a future Sam:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newFLAG01082108.htm

Anonymous said...

That's bs! Give some factual evidence. No one works harder than Jardon. Leadership is a thankless job.

Anonymous said...

No one works harder than Jardon? That's a big joke!

Anonymous said...

"Naadira Renfroe will be the first (to my knowledge) African American woman Student Body President"

Christian... your bloviating continues to make me sick. Why do you consistently opine about things you have no idea about?

Pamela Bingham 1986-1987

Anonymous said...

You all should check your SG history... SBP 1987-1988... Pam Bingham...african american female!!!!

Anonymous said...

"That's bs! Give some factual evidence. No one works harder than Jardon. Leadership is a thankless job."

People who work(ed) harder than Jardon:
Sam Miorelli
Cain Norris
Mark McShera
Josh Niederriter
Joe Trimboli
Elizabeth Stinson
Kyle Huey
Will Foster
Allison Cullin
Ben Cavataro
Leslie Veiga
David Meyrowitz
Mackinzie Moritz
Bruce Haupt
Rosemarie Clouston
Susan Henriques

I would take ONE of the above mentioned over a HUNDRED Jardons any day.

Anonymous said...

It's really no wonder Sam dislikes Glenda. A few choice quotes from the 5th Estate herself about Sam:

"He has no life."

"He is the most destructive person I've ever met in SG."

Then of course there's the time that Glenda stormed into the SG Conference room and SCREAMED at Sam and Cain for about 10 minutes right along Gator Party talking points about how they were obstructionist in enforcing the rules for SG appointments.

What you REALLY should have asked Sam about if you wanted to hear some stories is STAN THE MAN. O&B wine and cheese events have dubbed him "Professor" for his interpretations of SG statutes right along Gator Party lines and the joke is he teaches Embezzlement 4700. They seem to like the rest of the staff well enough though.

Christian Duque said...

"To my knowledge" means just that. It's not an assertion of fact. How's Alachua treatin' you these days?

francisco said...

Hey, leave Glenda and Stan alone; I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want appointed students taking minutes or making the final judgement calls on where money goes. SG is for the students, but I wouldn't trust some of these appointed people further than I could toss them!

As far as what Sam does vs. what Tommy does...well... Those that know me know that I have been very critical of Tommy and rightly (and unrightly) so in various cases. We each have our own skill sets and talents; Tommy's happen to be those that happen in the background at various points in time. If you asked an SG freshman last year what JCB did, they would like you tell you Gator Growl; however, being a friend of JCB I know he has a lot of pull with people in SG and has a great take on things. Hence, JCB provided "advising, planning, and administrative help". This is sort of what Tommy does (they are both going to kill me for this).

On the other hand, Sam is and always has been the type of guy that is very hands on, like me. The simple folk like me, are pretty good at "ground work", but Sam can do the ground work (no one on either side put in more campaign time this past Spring than Sam, period!) and he does a pretty good job at the administrative side too. You don't always have to agree with his approach, sometimes I don't either, but he works hard for what he believes in. It would take 50-60 average Gator Party Senators to equal the time and effort Sam puts into the activities he is involved with, including SG.

For me it's pretty simple, I don't always agree with Sam and Sam doesn't always agree with me, but he works for what he thinks is right. If there were more people like that in both parties SG would be a better place. Instead, SG has turned into a place where people like Sam are always wrong, let's yell at them and not try to have a civilized dicussion in order to figure out what the hell they are ranting about so we can shut them up.

Anonymous said...

"(no one on either side put in more campaign time this past Spring than Sam, period!)"

Nonsense.

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows the exact indy who brought Tommy back into the fold and why. It was because he alone could control Sam.

Anonymous said...

LOL Sam didn't do work during the spring campaign, everyone knows that Mark McShera did everything of importance.

Anonymous said...

So Tommy was brought back into the fold to control Sam, by ... Sam?

francisco said...

Mark McShera worked but did everything of importance??? I think that would be too much credit, even in Mark's eyes. Mark is a good guy, but there is no way he could have filled the void if Sam wasn't there.

Sam organized that party, fought for that party, campaigned his ass off at engineering. Just like Mr. Huey was the hardest working guy of the campaign season, Sam was the guy that put in the most time actually campaigning. No one can beat what Sam did, no one...not even those individuals that skipped class to campaign.

Anonymous said...

Tommy might've been brought in by Sam, I don't know. I do know Tommy is being showed the door by Sam, so maybe we're going full circle here.