Turnout higher in Classified Staff Congress election

More than 27 percent of the classified staff eligible responded to the call to return ballots in the election for Classified Staff Congress. This marks a five point increase in participation since last year.

“We have been charting a steady growth in both awareness and participation in shared governance,” says Classified Staff Executive Committee Chair Russell Kutz. “In the first election for the executive committee there was a 20 percent turnout, followed by a 22 percent turnout in the first election for congress — and now we have exceeded that in the second congress election.”

Congressional Liaison Jake Rebholz credited, in part, an active outreach campaign.

“We used every method of communication at our disposal, from posters to mass emails, and ballots were mailed directly to the homes of the employees,” Rebholz says. “I think this sort of accessibility proved valuable.”  

Executive Committee Vice Chair Linda Meinholz appreciated the diversity of the elected group of representatives.

“Half of the congressional incumbents ran for re-election, so we have a healthy mix of veterans and newcomers,” Meinholz says. “We also have several representatives from the campus community of English Language Learners.”

The Classified Staff Congress is a 106-seat elected body that meets the third Monday of each month. Meetings are open to the public and the minutes of the meetings are available on the Classified Staff Shared Governance website, as are the complete election returns.