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TheRaDiKaL: Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you decided to run for the Student Senate.
Sen. Mark McShera I am a sophomore political science and history major from Tampa, Florida. Outside of student government I am the College Democrats Editorial Chair. My first direct experience with student government came with the Progress Party in Fall 2007 when my friend, and party president, Joe Trimboli encouraged me to get involved. I decided to run for student senate because over my two years at UF it had become painfully obvious that senate needs some strong, independent voices to bring accountability.
TheRaDiKaL: As you may be aware, I too was a CLAS Senator with an Independent party. What has the public service experience been for you so far? Positive? Trying?
Sen. Mark McShera Senate has been very fun so far. Some have said there has been too much partisan bickering in chambers but I think we have had some great debates over issues like cabinet reform and senate's role as an advocate for the student body.
TheRaDiKaL: In a March 4th Alligator article you responded in the capacity of O&B Party Chairman that over two dozen violations against your party, filed by the Gator Party were in fact "frivolous" complaints. After the Alan Passman case, were there any concerns that if followed through, any of these complaints could result in disqualifications?
Sen. Mark McShera We thought the complaints served no purpose other than to disqualify the party. Ryan Day filed a mass amount of complaints to make Orange & Blue appear to be a renegade with no regard for the rules. As the vast majority of the 30 some complaints were eventually dropped, I think frivolous remains the best way to describe the complaints.
TheRaDiKaL: How would you describe this past Spring's election and from a strategic perspective, was it necessary for your party's front-runner to broadcast his sexual preference as boldly as he did? Was the idea to alienate as many voters as possible?
Sen. Mark McShera The past spring election served as a proving ground for our party to show we are a viable, competitive alternative to the Gator Party. We wanted to start building a movement that will one day result in a majority and I think we made great strides. I don't think that Tommy's sexuality was an issue that we trumpeted, outside of his guest column I don't remember seeing it mentioned once. As far as I could tell it was a non-issue.
TheRaDiKaL: Speaking in terms of the O&B "Wiki-Platform," do you see any potential conflict on interests in regards to switching UF Webmail with Google' gmail? With a name as emblematic of the Gator Nation as O&B, what kind of school spirit do you think emulated from a platform that suggested quitting on Webmail and replacing it with a corporate substitute?
Sen. Mark McShera I don't see any conflict of interest in switching to gmail unless Bernie Machen has some controlling interesting in Google that I am unaware of. The average student recognizes that gmail is an incredible upgrade over webmail. On the campaign trail that’s one of the issues that really grabs voters' attention.
TheRaDiKaL: Your party's choice for Vice President should have been, in my opinion, your choice for President. What experience, exactly, did Tommy Jardon have for the nomination? Do you think it's appropriate to run a turncoat for the presidency under a GDI ticket?
Sen. Mark McShera Tommy had the experience that comes along with being a leader in student government over an extended period of time. Our model was the Impact Party from Spring and Fall 2005, both successful independent parties. Tommy was an integral part of their achievements and we thought his extensive experience made him a strong candidate. I would dispute the notion that Tommy ever “turncoated” as he never asked for nor received anything from Ryan Moseley. He thought that Ryan could bring substantive change to student government at UF and briefly worked to bring that about.
TheRaDiKaL: What was your reaction(s) to the UF Supreme Court ruling that online voting is unconstitutional? With double digits in the Senate, will O&B vote to confirm President O'Reilly's selected justices or can we expect O&B senators to filibuster until 4 a.m. if need be? Without divulging, are there any strategies in the works to hinder another pool of system drones from being sworn in for '08-'09?
Sen. Mark McShera The Supreme Court’s ruling is completely and totally indefensible. 5683 students saw 4 law students throw their rights under the bus. As a matter of law the decision is total garbage. A real court will recognize Justice Campbell’s dissent as the only sensible opinion on the matter and send the amendment to the students for a vote. We will scrutinize Reilly’s selections and if he nominates system drones we will do everything we can to stop them from being confirmed.
TheRaDiKaL: Issue/Reaction (Short Answer Please)
Sen. Mark McShera
Roam Towing -- Roam Towing- It’s gotten much better since the new restrictions came into effect in Fall 2007. As the city council can hardly challenge the power of the towing companies I struggle to see it as an SG issue
2 A.M. Rave Ordinance -- I could see pushing it back to 230 or 3 but 2 isn’t too restrictive to in my mind.
Minus Grade Implementation -- Minus Grade Implementation- Having plus grades but no minus grades is frankly ridiculous. We should also add an A+ to maximize UF students’ competitiveness for grad school.
Senate Committee Appointments -- Senate Committee Appointments- Shameful but not shocking. There have been assurances they will improve so we will see where that goes.
Campus Sustainability/Green Areas -- Campus Sustainability/Green Areas- PTI needs to get over herself and allow the sustainability fee to help pay for things like biodiesel on buses.
Campus Recycling -- Campus Recycling- Recycling bins need to be more visible and abundant on campus. The idea of partnering with Pepsi to increase the number of recycling bins should be the model.
24 Hour Study Center -- 24 Hour Study Center- Considering our budget problems, I think there are enough spots on campus between libraries and dorms to study.
TheRaDiKaL: To what extent would you say (if any), for those of us long graduated, does FBK exert control over SG and/or key players in 2008?
Sen. Mark McShera Florida Blue Key is the power behind student government at UF. FBK may not actively mettle in the day-to-day operations of the Reilly administration but he still only received the nomination after picking up enough Key support.
TheRaDiKaL: Name association (5 words or less, preferably honest, no bs reactions)
Sen. Mark McShera
Ryan Day - Self-important turncoat
Kim Cruts- Bad press management
C.J. Brian Aungst: Ultimate system tool
Kellie Dale: Temperamental and in over her head
Bernie Machen: Worst UF President in the modern era
Campus SDS: Impressive Tenacity
Charles Grapski: Either brilliant or insane, probably both
Frank Bracco: Hard worker but sometimes unrealistic
Peter Gruskin: Only heard the name, don’t know enough to comment
Vanessa Goodwin: "As far as the idea that the Federal Government invented AIDS to infect the black community, its not that far fetched."
Sam Green: Power behind Jamal Sowell
Ryan Moseley: Best system politician in my time at UF, by far
Fernando Nin: Again not enough info to comment
Sam Miorelli: Extremely hardworking, great talent for pissing people off
Tommy Jardon: Strong leader, adroit strategist
Patricia Telles-Irvin: Machen’s lackey
Faculty Senate: Need to show more balls in the face of Machen’s move on the provost
Independent Florida Alligator. On the way back after a few mediocre semesters
TheRaDiKaL: Any parting words?
Sen. Mark McShera It’s been a great honor to add my name to the list of people, like Liz Stinson and Bruce Haupt, who have been interviewed by the Radikal. Thanks for the opportunity.
35 comments:
What a douche bag...
The good Senator or the good Radikal?
The idiot Senator. The Radikal did a pretty good job of being neutral and asking tough questions.
Any specific issues? I will publish ALL comments, just wish we'd have some healthy debate as opposed to mere name-calling.
Sam Green is the power behind Jamal Sowell???????? LOL This kid needs to learn some history before he shoots his mouth off.
Was Sam Green even at uf when jamal was here, that seems like years ago?
Access was almost four years ago. I think the fact he even knows who Jamal Sowell is by this point is acceptable. More to the point, I think the GDI's are finally re-building.
I for one believe that the victories of Impact '05 and, arguably, Unite, were aftershocks of the Access victory of Spring 2004.
I think the first chapter of the Post-Access GDI movement started with Action and the evolution into O&B has surely marked a steady resurgence.
But if he knows who Sam is, and thinks he was behind Jamal, what else is he getting wrong? Maybe he thinks that Phi Mu has the legacy for SGP too.
boring dude!
Oh I agree it's boring, sure ain't Spring '04! But if you guys wanted things in SG to be more exciting, maybe you'd give the Minority have a chance to do something. :)
I think he got Sam Greene mixed up with Andre Samuels.
Forgivable since he probably only knows these people by name.
When does oreilly make cabinet agency appointments?
Yeah. I also think with Tommy Jardon graduating soon, that will be the end of an era (Jardon, Grove, Meyrowitz).
I think this new crop of GDI's are not so driven by re-creating the Access Revolution (despite the fact some of their older leaders just barely lived a few of the last days of the Y&B administration), but are more keen on the future and building something new and different.
This is an SG-Historian's perspective, it's one of the few places that a Frank Bracco can exchange ideas with a Peter Gruskin and a James Argento and a Ken Kerns; multiple different eras of the Independent movement, analyzing the happenings of the day against the backdrop of years past.
I see a lot of Student Alliance in Orange & Blue, but considered Action to be more of a Lowell Wong type version of Access, with Dennis Ngin's Impact to be a somewhat reformed version of the Voice Party's take of Access, with MM's Progress being very similar to Chris Carmody's Swamp.
If you can make it past that, you're a Radikal reader.
ROFL, don't ever group Ben Grove with Jardon or Meyrowitz. He doesn't deserve that type of credit. He doesn't deserve any credit for that matter.
to put ben grove in the same sentence as tommy and david is frankly insulting for the other two
Grove is an intern at the RNC! BAHAHAHAHAH! If he can't land a real job during a campaign season then he may be in for a lot of trouble.
I think we've hit an interesting area in the modern era of SG. I believe that it's perfectly appropriate to associate Grove with Jardon. From his own Q&A & private emails, Tommy led the Indies to Moseley's Gator Party, whether or not he grew disillusioned thereafter or not - is immaterial.
Jardon did not redeem himself by running for president either. In fact, it only reiterated the very authoritarian nature of the Old Guard over the younger, less experienced Class of 2011.
Frank Bracco, a sitting agency director, should have been cast for president. Ben Cavatero, the lone senator from Hume, should have been considered for the top spot as well -- he was not.
The fact Jardon led the '05 Impact, was usurped by Roberts for control of Unite, returned to recruit a ragtag force of scattered SG veterans to put on the Action show featuring poor Chris Chase, and that he somehow returned to the helm of the O&B Party ater leading a switch that brought Moseley fanatics Cruts, Day, & Grove to the side of one of the most inept SBP's in history, is surely incredible.
However, the ability to infiltrate and take-over Party Executive Committee's hardly outweighs public service.
I happen to like Tommy, nice guy, but as an old Lowell Wong supporter, he's not the kind of Independent that benefited the movement most. Jardon is a mainstream Independent, who's thirst for power has-at-times made him go to GDI' lenghts. He is, however, not a GDI.
other than the fact frank bracco is insane...
They say history is written by the winners, but that's bullshit.
Let's get this straight for the last time: Tommy was dragged kicking and screaming to Moseley, and then he jumped ship when Moseley didn't want him. Look at this this way--if Tommy "led" the indies to Moseley, then you owe all of them a serious apology for calling them turncoats. By your account, they were just following their fearless leader!
Those turncoat indies you're so down on were the ones who took the initiative and led the way. But that's okay, because this is just another one of the plethora of imaginary things you have decided is real.
Speaking as someone who worked within the O&B campaign, I'd like to offer my two cents on a few things.
First, whatever ineptness and incompetence the Moseley administration had is going to look like a candle next to the supernova-sized disaster that the Reilly (not O'Reilly) administration will be.
Second, as the Senator mentioned, Tommy's sexual orientation was a nonissue. The only reason it was mentioned at all was to cast him as a "non-traditional" candidate.
Third, a lot can be said about Tommy, and given that I'm not privy to the details of whatever treachery he engaged in, I'm not going to speculate. However, grouping Tommy in with Day, Cruts, Simmons, and Grove is simply incorrect. Out of those four, only Ryan was smart enough to get anything out of it. Cruts got to be Moseley's mouthpiece, Grove got a job at the bookstore, and Simmons got nothing. Ryan at least managed to get a tap (for whatever those are worth nowdays). If nothing else, Tommy is smart enough to get something in exchange for selling out.
Fourth, regarding the Andre Samuels/Sam Green thing, given that most of us at UF now were in high school (or maybe even middle school with this new class) when Access happened, I think some slack can be cut. It's pretty obvious that Phi Mu does not have the SGP Chair legacy by the way.
Fifth, I also take some issue with the characterization of the independent history. The way I see it, Access started a line that finally died with Pants. Progress '07 was the first party built and run by the people around now. Tommy is probably the only person still involved who was even at UF for Access (let alone a part of it).
Finally, I don't think Tommy running is an issue with the "Old Guard" keeping the "Class of 2011" down. Whoever the opposition ran was virtually guaranteed to lose. It's hard to run a viable exec candidate when your recent history consists of winning one or two Senate seats per semester. Now that O&B has proven that it can indeed win victories, we may see more competitive exec races in the future. The fact remains that whether we ran Jardon, Bracco, Cavataro (even though that's not permitted), or some random student, they were going to lose. With a newfound semblance of credibility O&B will run exec closer in Spring 09.
Ok great, SG in a historian's perspective; yes! Like I said we'd cover the topic in spurts post '07.
Ok...my apologies to the last anon's for publishing late, I was studying CivPro & Contacts II all night. FYI/TMI
Next...let's start with Anon 8:48 AM
I think you make valid points, but you're wrong. Jardon did in fact lead the turncoats to Moseley; call it a 'a belief Moseley would change things' -or- call it what I do, a strategy to go to GDI' lengths to maintain authority over the Independent brass (party executives). The young lt.'s wanted Gator, but w/o Jardon they wouldn't have moved. I'll prove my point as follows:
(1)In a 2/25/07 email, Jardon made this statement after the controversial Pants Party video: "My position hasn't changed. I still support Moseley. The commercial was what we in the industry term: a joke.
" >>>>Kicking & Dragging?<<<
(2)From what I gather (in section 1), Jardon may have been testing a technique taught to him by Andre Samuels & Lowell Wong, establishing footholds (however slight) in both political camps; perhaps the appropriate term for Jardon is The Double Agent, as opposed to a mere Turncoat (a title we could slap on the lesser notables Ryan Day, Ben Grove, Josh Simmons, Kim Cruts, etc).
(3) In an email dated 2/14 Jardon explained the logic behind the defection(s): "And, for the record (but off the record) my main reason for such a general defection was that Ben Grove, Josh Simmons, Ryan Day, and Kim Cruts were trying to barter off an Indie Spring Campaign for positions of their own."
(4) Once again, the theme of (3) is not Jardon joining Moseley under duress or out of necessity. Jardon simply wanted to be the "deal-maker"; he didn't want to forfeit control of the "Independent movement" he'd helped create, a movement that saw him out of the driver's seat during a brief power struggle with rival Adam Roberts (see Unite ticket).
(5) Later in the 2/14 letter Jardon elaborates that: "they hate the fact that Moseley listens to me so much."
(6) Jardon, similar to the disappointingly-turned-turncoat-in-the-9th-Inning Pedro Morales, was somewhat delusional for thinking "he ever had Moseley's ear." Still the statement is clearly made; once again, the "kicking & screaming argument sounds harder and harder to sell."
(7)Only a line from the cited sentence in (5), Jardon states: "hat being said, I still provide whatever advice I can to David and the other Pants kids - old habits die hard (or not at all)."
(8) Hence The Double Agent, the Turncoat, the obsessiveness of remaining in control despite forever-changing times, and finally met with a Presidential berth for a movement whose served as his vehicle to self-realization and self-fulfillment.
I still must disagree with 4&8. I don't think that Tommy was trying to ensure that he remained the "deal-maker" as much as he wanted to ensure that nobody jumped ship again. He certainly did that, as I mentioned earlier, none of the turncoats (with the exception of Day) went anywhere.
Your logic that leads to point 8 is completely wrong. If Tommy was looking for "self-realization and self-fulfillment" running for Student Body President in a race that we were almost guaranteed to lose is not the way he would do it. Why would anyone who was interested primarily in their own power run for SBP with a completely discredited and up to that point broken independent movement?
- Anon 12:14
Have you ever dealt with Bracco on a day to day basis. If you every have or talking to anyone who has, you would know why he wasn't ran as a SBP candidate.
Haha, I'm insane! Well I prefer to see that there is a fine line between genius and insanity; if I must be categorized by those standards, then I prefer to see myself as sitting on that line. Truthfully, I would just like to state that I am a pretty nice, hardworking guy that can get really excited about cool, new projects…I’m no genius or insane person, just regular Joe! :-).
I think the Duke levels too much against Tommy and Moseley. I have to say I didn't really know what to think about Mr. Moseley when I first started (or for the first 6 months or so for that matter) but in the end he turned out to be a great guy that was in it for tangible benefits. I cannot speak to how he conducted his campaign and I withhold my evaluation of his administration for future "days-gone-by" talks but I wouldn't mind serving his administration again.
As far as Tommy, I would like to say we have a "love/hate - love/hate" relationship (if Tommy was to think as highly of me as I do of him). Tommy and I both have big opinions of ourselves (I.E. we have a big egos) and I think we can both admit that. The fact is we simply have different viewpoints on how to "conduct business". I am a very critical individual and Tommy has been subject to my sharp criticisms (and the same goes the other way). In the end though, I respect Tommy (I don't agree with him but I respect him none the less)and if he were to call and ask for anything I would be sure to help if I could; ultimately that respect I have for Tommy is more than I can say for others that have gotten involved in this business of SG.
I found the whole process very fulfilling. And a lot more than you might think can be gained by running when you know you're probably going to lose. :)
This is what makes SG blogging still enjoyable so many years later; thanks for your post 12:14. Now, let me address your strongest point with a rebuttal:
"Why would anyone who was interested primarily in their own power run for SBP with a completely discredited and up to that point broken independent movement?"
Why would Mike Belle or Charlie Grapski run for City Commission (Gainesville, Alachua) or Ralph Nader for President (2000, 2004, 2008?), or Al Sharpton or Alan Keyes?
Sometimes getting your name out there, having questions fielded and being able to answer them, sometimes being treated like a real candidate and having a worthy excuse to meet random folks, strangers, and make new friends -- is enough. Just my take.
Haha, see I still have people don't really like me. I guess some of that is my own fault.
Yeah I am with Bruce; I had a lot of fun running. I am not the "President" type: I have a pretty critical personality that is very energetic (I.E. sometimes really hyper and, hence, annoying if you don't know me). I am more of the worker/bureaucratic type.
In truth, most people that have ever spoken to me about why I ran know the real reason: because competition matters. It isn't a good or evil battle (although some feel that way and sometimes it appears to be), it is a matter of what is best for the students and for our little SG experiment with democracy. If SG cannot even have an opposition party with people that have ideas, energy, and want to work hard then why even have an election...and where would the legitimacy be? In December I seriously thought not running a party was a possibility; at the beginning of February I praying that this wouldn't be the election where the opposition party did not win a single seat (Josh could attest to that). To think we put together such an experimental idea in such a short amount of time was amazing. To me, though, the outcome didn't matter as much as the experience: I met tons of new people, learned about a lot of issues, got to spread my thoughts on some matters, and had a lot of fun in the possess. Plus I got my name on a t-shirt...and it was higher than Liz's, what could beat that :lol:
Yeah, just to chime, although I know my opinion doesn't matter, since I'm a dirty turncoat and can't be trusted, Tommy didn't lead us anywhere. He realized his cult of personality was crumbling beneath him and decided to jump ship on his own terms. He spent a year laying low and then started to rebuild his personal political harem with a new generation of idealistic know-nothings.
Don't get me wrong, I still respect Tommy a lot - he's incredibly smart and usually a pretty good strategist (if not, from what I've heard, all that great in bed :-X ), but he's grown quite an addiction to being deified, and I think that's what hit him hardest about the whole "turncoat" thing - that we could actually make decisions on our own counter to his supreme will.
I also find great humor in the distaste with which he says we were trying to trade our support for "positions of our own" and the disbelief he and his cronies laid on such an idea at the time, and then Ryan and Kim became Moseley's two closest advisors. Funny how that's never mentioned.
To the actual topic of this post, though, I'd like to say that although I do have a great deal of respect for a number of the current crop of indies, I have absolutely no respect for Mark McShera and very little chance of ever having any.
In the course of what pretty much amounted to a public ambush on the Colonnade (admittedly, I rather brought it on myself) Mark had no problem calling into question, in the form of a series of snide, back-handed one-liners and epithets, my credentials as a former student senator and an independent - despite never being properly introduced and the fact that he was still in high school at the time (most of the "new" indies were in high school at the time, so he couldn't have heard anything about me more accurate than third- or fourth-hand). Hold whatever misinformed and derogatory opinions of me as you will, but at least have the common decency to introduce yourself before insulting me to my face.
End rant.
I think Tommy gets undercut a bit by those of you that jumped ship. I think we can unequivocally make the case that back-room meetings and secret deal were made -- I think we can bury the notion that any of you left the Independent Front merely because Armando was a stronger choice than Bruce, Nina, or Chris (b/c that's really where the first double-cross took place) and then later b/c Ryan was a better choice than Bruce.
If we can at least agree that many of you traded your stock with the GDI's by crippling the movement as an ends to your own personal political advancement, then I think we've made Progress...
I'm willing to accept that Tommy Jardon is not a turncoat - I never truly thought him to be, however, he's not a GDI - he's an Independent.
A GDI will draw line at some point, with regards to what he'll/she'll do; in Tommy's case, as supported in your comments & others', it was arguably about staying on top.
I do believe his heart is with the Independents and I do believe he'd rather die than join FBK (both great attributes in a SBP imo), but power just may have been Tommy Jardon's greatest downfall.
If he still has another year left at UF, he'll run AGAIN for SBP, you heard it here, FIRST.
p.s.
No matter how battered, tattered, and scattered the Indie/GDI movement gets, a guy like Tommy Jardon will always find a following.
I mean look @ me? lol. With the Indies split in 3, arguably 4 count the IFP, I still managed to put out a party that lived the true essence of the 2004 Y&B, we got over 800 votes, won a seat, and kept both parties (this I know for a fact) terrified of split-ticket-Executive -swing voters.
In a college election, I would say the vast majority of the electorate can be considered "swing voters." Ooops, went off on a tangent.
Am I comparing myself to Tommy? Maybe, but he's a far better strategist than I, I could never have made it leading a mainstream Party, I'm just too friggin different.
He'll run again. Trust me.
Just a quick note: The "turncoats" were working with Mose before I even cooked up Pants v2.0.
It's not like there was another game in town when they made that call, however, I'm not in any way trying to insinuate that they would have been part of Pants were this not the case.
Anyway, one of these days I'll throw out some of my "hindsight is 20/20" thoughts. I think I compromised too much: I mistakenly gave up on some of Pants' strengths and tried to do too much outside our "core competencies."
C'est la vie :)
Oh I'm sure they were Bruce, but it was your courageous run for Veep that forced them to fess up about their agenda in Fall, as opposed to buying them a whole semester of plotting until the Spring election's coup de grâce
Christian, what are you even talking about? The idea that you know anyone's motivations is hilarious and beginning to edge of ego mania. You're years out of UF, and like Virgil remarked about Mark's blind, ranting hatred, stop pretending. Seriously, go back to ranting about dictators in South America.
I don't think anything I did was all that courageous Christian, particularly the Fall run.
Fall Pants was about pointing out the idiocy that transpires in every party. I was reading your Dan "Iron Fist" Fitzpatrick interview a couple days ago (we have like 2 weeks of reading days -- I'm bored), and with regard to Pants1, I could have written some of the same things. I had the same objectives... although by registering I did take it a little closer to "mainstream" Keg. Still, Regardless, I don't think this had anything to do with Day/etc going over.
As for Spring, I simply ran because no one else had anything going on. Furthermore, I was graduating and had nothing to lose. My Fraternity on the other hand did (bastards!), but frankly I was/am a little too full of idealism (or shit, or myself) to consider that too much. Then for some reason I took on the banner of "indie-ism;" I think, because I wanted those kids to have some place to go. If the new freshies only had two choices and one was the mainstream (Greeks) who would turn them down, and the other party that was just a complete joke... gosh...what would they have?
Anyway, the result was Pants2 as a confusing mix of funny-serious-outlandish-election complaint registering-etc. I do not regret it, but I wonder how it would have been had we gone with the Pants1 philosophy. Except, "on crack." Think about it. We'd have been the only opposition party and we'd only be attempting to make a joke of the process: ridiculous platforms (Sig Eps can no longer have hair gel), bad jokes in Alligator interviews (macaroni and cheese?), and even more battles with Turlington preachers. Plus, we still would have done "I Voted" stickers. :)
Oh well, I had a crap load of fun and this is just an old man reminiscing. Won't be long until people call me crazy and tell me to stop blogging. Too late? ;)
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