Five student senators have filed a bill impeaching Student Body Treasurer John Taylor Willis, a third-year studying business administration. Willis will remain in office unless the process of his removal is passed by the Senate.
Student Senate President Pro Tempore Adam Schmidt, a second-year studying civil engineering and senator representing the College of Engineering, is the corresponding senator on the bill. The other sponsors of the bill are Gabrielle Dauntain*, Sam Chan, Kate Puricz and Rebecca Locklin.
According to the bill, filed Monday for first reading at the Student Senate meeting on Wednesday, Willis failed to meet deadlines on submitting two collections of documents, one of which was due to the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the other of which was due to a body within the Executive Branch of Student Government.
The bill also refers to as-of-yet anonymous officers and members of Student Government who have said that Willis’ “interpersonal interactions have had an adverse effect on their ability to accomplish their duties as effectively as they otherwise would have been able,” according to the bill.
The last impeachment made against a Student Government official by a Senate bill was in 2007, when Bobby Mills, then-student body president, was impeached over comments he made advocating the dissolution of what is now the Association of Student Governments. That impeachment did not result in removal from office.
Willis’ impeachment, which is set to be reviewed by the Government Relations and Oversight Committee next week, charges him with neglect of duty, which is defined in the Student Body Statutes as a failure to “willfully … execute a specific duty to the best of his or her ability.”
Willis is also charged with abuse of power, which the statutes define as “cases in which the execution of an official power has been in a manner inconsistent with its just purpose or fair use, to the detriment of the Student Body or the Student Government.”
Willis was not available for comment before time of publishing.
* Disclosure: Gabrielle Dauntain is a staff columnist for Technician.
