Austin Galovski, formerly the Student Association presidential campaign manager for Charlie Mastoloni, has left the campaign.

The move comes hours after Galovski said that both he and Mastoloni had spoken with former SA presidential candidate Andrew Brendel about holding a place in Mastoloni’s administration if he dropped out and endorsed Mastoloni. The exchange of favors — Brendel’s endorsement for a spot in the administration — could be seen by SA election officials as bribery, said a source close to the situation.

Bribery, as outlined in SA bylaws 5.9 through 5.10.5 on page 26, is grounds for the disqualification of a campaign. The bylaws also state that an SA presidential candidate is responsible for the actions and words of his or her staff.

Student Association Bylaws

At the time of the statement, 10:34 p.m. on Tuesday, Galovski was still the campaign manager. Hours later, by Wednesday morning, he was out.

If Mastoloni’s campaign is disqualified, the last remaining pair in the race would be Eric Evangelista and Joyce LaLonde.

Jessica Brosofsky said Galovski resigned for “personal reasons” and that it had nothing to do with Galovski’s comments about Brendel.

Brosofsky said Galovski had, but she had not, been contacted by either SA board, the Judicial Review Board or the Board of Elections and Membership, which could open an investigation into Galovski’s comments.

“I’m not sure about Charlie,” Brosofsky said. “We haven’t spoken.”

Mastoloni did not immediately return a phone call and text seeking comment. Emails to the heads of both SA boards were also not immediately answered.

“(Charlie and I) talked and decided it was in our mutual best interest for a lot of reasons,” Galovski said. “Namely because I’m getting destroyed with work this weekend and will not be able to contribute.”

Published on April 13, 2016 at 11:12 am

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