This year’s anti-establishment candidate comes in the form of third-year Mathematics student James Carney, whose manifesto consists of a 350-word poem with one clear message to YUSU – you’re failing us.
Despite his poetic manifesto and lack of clear policies, Carney is no ‘joke’ candidate.
Carney told Vision that he purposely wrote his manifesto to stand out: “I decided to write something different rather than a traditional manifesto, it isn’t really a manifesto at all. I think it’s naïve to make promises – the President isn’t the Vice-Chancellor.”
An outspoken critic of the union, he feels that being external of the union is his main advantage.
“Candidates who have spent time in and around YUSU tend to specialise their policies to areas of the union most wouldn’t notice rather than choosing to focus on the fundamental issues – there’s no sense installing French windows in a house whose foundations are sinking”
His primary aim is to revolutionise YUSU, changing the structure of the Union so that College Committees are at the centre of decision making, with their policies then channelled through YUSU to the University.
With policy making being moved down to the JCRCs Carney proposes moving voting on college amendments online in order to include more students, and to that end making big reforms to the YUSU website.
James Carney was Goodricke bar rep last year and has been instrumental in the fight to build a new bar over on Hes East. He cites putting on popular student drinking socials, such as the now banned centurion, despite the lack of a college bar as evidence of his capability of running the large-scale YUSU events.
The Tipster’s odds: 7/1
Carney may struggle in the recognition stakes outside of Hes East and his reform-based policies may prove too ‘boring’ for the electorate, but it’s possible he might steal valuable Goodricke votes from Hernando.
I’m not normally a gambling person, but James Carney is definitely worth a bet. And at 7/1, i’d get a pretty decent return too!
As a Goodricker I can tell you that it looks like the majority of Goodricke support is with Carney. It will be Hernando stealing votes from him. Interesting race though. Looks to be between three to me. I’d probably take 7/1, despite Taylor being strong favourite.
Whilst you might think that James Carney might struggle with recognition outside Goodricke, I’ve heard his name from people in other colleges and from people who have never talked about him before. I think he’ll get a most of the votes from Goodricke and it will be Nacho taking votes from Carney rather than the other way round.
Urm vision getting its facts wrong again…
James was not “instrumental” in getting the new bar…
That was always coming with langwith and the langwith and goodricke chairs negotiated it…
@Anon – you’re wrong.
Its certainly not true that Carney was instrumental in getting a bar on Hes East. I saw well developed plans that commercial services had for the bar building on hes east back in first year, before Carney could even be bothered to get involved with campus representation.
3rd year
the bar is going to be YUSU run…
Clearly a candidate to divide opinion then…
Whilst Taylor and Hernando are favourites, I think Carney is ahead of Latif. A strong performance at hustings would affirm that but if he is a joke candidate then he might as well not bother.
James Carney didn’t get the backing of the college in their own JCRC elections, he hasn’t done anything between then and now to prove his worth to the college or the University as a whole. I highly doubt he has the college support that you say.
The Hes East bar was campaigned for and negotiated by the chairs of both Goodricke and Langwith, and as a Goodricker too I cannot see a majority vote for James in the college. Nacho is well known to most in Goodricke and has a strong manifesto to back up this recognition.
@pints
I made no reference to who was running the bar, I merely pointed out that during a meeting with commercial services I was shown almost finalised plans for a bar building. Thus making any “campaign” by Carney a mere sideshow at best.
Comment edited by moderator.
You shouldn’t make comments which are misleading.
@3rd Year:
The plans you would be referring to were the plans for the social and catering building which was to have a bar. They were shelved and still are shelved, as they don’t think there is a demand for it.
@Goodricker:
To say James Carney didn’t get the backing of college in the JCRC elections is very harsh. The position he ran for was contested by two very strong candidates (the other being Liam O’Shaughnessy) in which he just missed out by 3 votes.
I’ll take 7/1 after that
In relation to the comments about the closeness of the goodricke elections:
whilst the vote was close, he campaigned for hangover food as his main policy. Shows he’s self centred and merely looking at his own interests rather than the wider considerations needed for being a vice chair for welfare.
God knows how he got as many votes as he did…
Maybe it reflects how students don’t take Jcrc elections seriously…
Let’s just hope York students look for a real candidate for pres and don’t play it like a game.
in response to Anon
Say what you want about his campaign but all he did throughout was release a video for two hours and set up a facebook event. He lost out by two votes. He didn’t block run and he didn’t poster. I voted for him. He was willing to give students what they want.
Anonymous:
Yes he did, he came into my flat with George Davis…
So he’s serious…
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/James-Carney-YUSU-President/311400738909393?sk=app_190322544333196
The incredibly pretentious manifesto on the YUSU page was off-putting, but he does seem to have a number of good ideas listed on his facebook page.
I really don’t think he actually has the support from Goodricke. A bar rep, someone who can organise an event by clicking ‘create event’ on facebook compared to a very successful college chair? His campaigning for his jcrc position was laughable. He didn’t provide one good answer at the goodricke hustings. Nacho is much more capable of doing the job. Carney just wants to be controversial by wanting to create this ‘revolution’.
An impressive candidate I can’t help but liking even though I don’t want to. Aside from the negative comments above, it’s a shame many have been put off by what was a pretentious manifesto. James Carney’s ideas are very good and unlike a few of the other candidates they are actually achievable. What sets him apart from the rest is that he has proposed this boring college reform stuff as a platform to then build on his other policies. He’s not just telling us what he’s going to do, but how he’s going to do it. Had he released the manifesto that is now on his Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Carney-YUSU-President/311400738909393
Along with his hustings and CIN performance I think he would have been one of the favourites. That manifesto left him an uphill struggle though.
@anon2
A friend of mine pointed out your post, so I’d like to clarify a few things. I ran for the position in the last Goodricke elections, for Vice Chair Democracy & Welfare, because I wanted to highlight what I believed to be inherent problems in the elections process; particularly the immediate bias present and the draconian rules placed upon candidates. I had no intentions of taking up the role; my ambition was always to run for YUSU President. For this reason, I did not produce any posters and any block runs I took part in, as the one previously mentioned, were for the support of a friend running. Had I won, I would have resigned upon receiving the role as I believe the current incumbent is a better committed candidate in that role.
My performance at the hustings you refer to was down to one main reason; hustings was held AFTER voting had opened, an almost certain precedent and ridiculous decision. College hustings has a low turnout at the best of times, but everyone left in the room by the time I was to make my speech was either running for a position, supporting a candidate running for a position or a member of the current committee. Either way, all of them had already voted. Which rendered hustings performance utterly useless and an exercise in empty rhetoric.
By you claiming a Bar Rep does less than a College Chair, you are highlighting a point I have made previously; there’s a lack of knowledge surrounding how the committees work and operate. Committees are democratically elected and governed by a majority vote. Fundamentally, there is no one position more important or more powerful than another. Without members of the committee voting on, proposing and carrying out events, there would be nothing for the chair to pass on and represent to external bodies; their primary role.
I am not seeking to create a revolution. Yes, I want to make changes, but controversy is not something I am looking for; it would appear it is something certain individuals are looking for in me.
Although a committee needs all its members to work, the chair is definately more important than a bar rep…
James,
By highlighting the fact that you never had any intention to take the position of Vice, it shows just how much you simply conduct activities to create a stirr. There is no inherent sense of caring, you simply want to demonstrate a point. This is the EXACT same air that surrounds your campaign to become YUSU president.
I find it highly unlikely that you would be able to convince the student body that you genuinely care for their uni experience. I find that other candidates want to make a positive difference to the university and would be able to take your concerns forward in addition to the more proactive changes they are already set on doing.
What are you going to do if you get elected? Fight the powers that be about them being crap and then get some student discounts? Is that it?
Other candidates are proposing realistic changes to our employability, for example. Real changes that will help our future in the long term, rather than saving 10% of our money on dinner.
Comments above have outlined how your policies are realistic. This much I cannot deny, but I feel that they are far below the par of what a YUSU can and should be doing.
I do not want my vote wasted on a candidate that is proving a point when I could vote for a candidate that actually help me.
What is your response to this?
Comment edited by moderator.
@Student1
‘There is no inherent sense of caring, you simply want to demonstrate a point.’ – The whole reason I wanted to demonstrate the point was because I cared; because I do care. It distresses me that college elections are so poorly attended, both in running for positions and voting for them. The majority of those who vote are friends of candidates running; there’s only a small percentage who would vote if they didn’t know anybody running. It equally distresses me that the candidates who do decide to run are caught up in a system which is fundamentally wrong, with poor organisation and co-ordination.
The ‘boring’ stuff I am proposing to implement, relating to reforms, identify a need for fundamental change at the foundations of how our structure operates. Have the other candidates sought to change this? If not, are they suggesting the current system works fine? if the current system works fine then why has so little been done for us? Those who run the University are intelligent. They know how YUSU operates. There’s a President in position for a year and they know it takes a few months for him to find his feet, then another few months to implement ideas. They slow him down through red tape and then it’s time for somebody else to step up.
If you read my policies, you will see what I am going to do once elected. Is it about fighting the powers that be? No, and I have not said this. We need to work with these powers, as there is no clear power in the Union, only power in numbers and the fact that the University needs students as much as students need the University. I am proposing to put in place a better line of communication with these powers in order to get things done more effectively and efficiently. I am most certainly not a fool and so realise there is no use in biting the hand that feeds.
I take your point about furthering employability etc. but the reason I have not proposed policies in this field, or indeed in the fields of sport and welfare, despite having lots of ideas, is because we have sabbatical officers to cover those areas. It is my view that the President’s remit falls under three sections; representation, democracy and services. This is why I have proposed what I have. The academic officers running this year have proposed ways of confronting issues surrounding employability and graduation and, as President, I would seek to support these ideas and the policies implemented which follow from them.
Thanks
CARNEY YOU HAVE A BOOK TO WRITE BY AUGUST. WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR UNION PRESIDENT?!
And how many times throughout your life have you used the quote: ‘there’s no sense installing French windows in a house whose foundations are sinking.’ I knew this would come up somewhere…
James,
You complain about the College elections, but yet you yourself made a joke out of that position by running for it and not intending to do the job. Wasting people’s time and votes just to get your point across? You have just proven why you do not deserve to get this role. Your main aim is to create a stir.
”For this reason, I did not produce any posters and any block runs I took part in, as the one previously mentioned, were for the support of a friend running.” Maybe this was the case, but I know, as a member of Goodricke college on Facebook, you campaigned a lot online. I for one pay more attention to my news feed than posters on walls.
The best 60 second manifesto by a long way. Still think Taylor will win it, but then it’s between Hernando and Carney (whoever can get more support outside of Goodricke) to challenge, with Zarah a decent outside bet. Really good field of candidates this year and I’m enjoying the coverage.
@James
James, just as a bit of background, I organised Derwent JCRC Elections this year. You keep going on about college elections being badly-organised and poorly attended. I don’t know whether you actually have any experience to back that up other than Goodricke, but I can assure you that, at least for the past 3 years, Derwent hustings pack out D Bar. As an estimate I would say 300-350 people go each year, which represents a third of the college.. and to be honest it would be very difficult to fit much more than that into that space.
Does this still “distress” you?
Also, please let me know how our elections were “poorly organised and coordinated”.
Comment edited by moderator.
James,
It just seems you have a massive grudge against Goodricke college. As an example above, the other colleges aren’t complaining about the stuff you want to change. Run for college chair if it’s your college you want to change. But please don’t run for it without intending on doing the job. It’s not clever.
In fairness, both the Goodricke AND Vanbrugh elections were brought into disrepute this year. There were articles written on both.
Articles are just sensationalist. The goodricke elections weren’t actually bad… James carney just kept getting punished for breaking the rules…
I totally second everything A has to say.
Just met the man himself in Willow. A really nice, genuine guy able to put across his policies and passion to me (an undecided voter) despite being smashed. Really hope he wins.
If only the Willow could go for YUSU President…
i am distressed
VOTE FOR ZAHRA!
@Shafsters – the only people voting for Zarah are the very people Carney doesn’t care about. Those he appeals to wouldn’t think once abot voting for Zarah. Think about it logically.
Having had close contact with the man for several years, and with full knowledge of how much of a d*ck Carney is, I sit here and wonder how many of the above “anonymous” comments in his favour are written by Carney himself. Especially the ones at 4:00 in the morning.