The Board of Elections told former Student Government presidential candidate Mike Mayer to take down a campaign banner hanging from the side of the parking garage next to Bender Arena Monday.
The 15-foot canvas drop-cloth, which Mayer and a few of his friends hung up late Sunday night, had "Mike Mayer for President: Vote Tuesday" written in paint. Mayer said he previously had the design for the banner approved after reading the BOE's rules for campaigning and said there was no rule against the practice.
"This is something I had wanted to do for a long time," Mayer said. "I always saw the greek life banners on the parking garage and I was like 'that's a great way to get your name out there!'"
Students campaigning for SG offices are prohibited from campaigning in Mary Graydon Center, Bender Arena, Kay Spiritual Life Center and the Bender Library.
The side of the garage, which faces the north side of the Letts-Anderson-Centennial complex, is a popular place for greek organizations and student clubs to hang promotional posters. However, the location is considered somewhat ambiguous as a space for election campaigning; while it is not explicitly mentioned in the BOE's guidelines as part of Bender Arena, it falls under the discretion of the BOE chair to decide whether it is.
BOE Chair Emily Ann Kokol said she interpreted the parking garage as part of Bender and thus told Mayer to take down the banner.
"We've actually never had a [campaign] banner hung [there] before, but I really can't talk too much about the case in general," she said. "We really keep those confidential."
Mayer was contacted Monday afternoon by the BOE and removed the banner around 2:30 p.m.
"While I disagree with [the BOE's] interpretation of their own rules, they were very fair, and they said they wouldn't make a big deal out of it if I just took [the banner] down, so that's what I did," Mayer said.
Gertold Hasanbelliu, Mayer's former campaign staffer, friend and co-interim general manager of ATV, said he thought the BOE's instruction that Mayer take down his banner was unfair and an attack on his friend.
"If one of the other candidates had done it would there have been that much uproar? I don't think so," Hasanbelliu said. "You could probably argue that certain members of the BOE are leaning towards certain candidates."
Kokol said in response that the BOE treats every candidate equally and that Hasanbelliu's claim was "absolutely ridiculous."
"This is my sixth or seventh election," she said. "I've been on this board three years. I like to think that I keep any biases I possibly have out of it, which is why we have other members of the board. Every member of the board is kept in the loop on things. We try to make joint decisions when we can."
Hasanbelliu's remarks should be taken with a grain of salt, Mayer said Tuesday evening.
"[Hasanbelliu] is a good friend of mine, [but] he is not a current member of my campaign and does not speak for it, nor do I think he necessarily speaks for ATV for that matter," he said.
On Tuesday morning, a series of posters advertising Mayer's show on ATV were found in the old campaign banner's place, hung against Mayer's wishes by Hasanbelliu and another friend.
"It sort of worked both ways," Hasanbelliu said. "By promoting the show, we promoted [Mayer], and by promoting [Mayer], we promoted the show."
Mayer said his name was used to promote ATV in the past and that it does not bother him now that his name is more recognizable.
"If ATV wants to capitalize off my running for president that's totally fine with me, because I want ATV to do well. I want people to watch my show," he said. "As long as they're doing it in a way that's tasteful and within the rules, I'm totally cool with it."
Both Kokol and Jared Dashoff, vice chair of the SG BOE and chair of the RHA Board of Elections, said the ATV banner is not within their jurisdiction to regulate.
"As far as I know, it has absolutely nothing to do with the election other than Mike Mayer is an actor on 'The Mike Mayer Show,'" Dashoff said. "So in reality, the Board of Elections had no say in how or where that banner is placed, because it's an advertisement for an ATV show and therefore goes through Student Activities and not through any part of SG."
As of press time, "The Mike Mayer Show" banners were still hanging from the side of the garage.
You can reach this staff writer at thallerman@theeagleonline.com.
