YUSU recently announced the election of Keely Blanchard as the next Student Trustee.
Blanchard will now join the Trustee Board, who operate as the main governing body of the entire Union.
Blanchard received an endorsement from a former Student Trustee, Josh Mackenzie, who said in a Facebook post that she would “bring a much-needed fresh perspective, not weighed down by internal YUSU politics or personal grievances”. The role of a Student Trustee is a non-political role, meaning that candidates for the election could not make any specific promises in their manifestos.
The board, according to YUSU’s website, holds ultimate responsibility for the “financial health, legal compliance and development of the Union”, and so is also responsible for most of the key decisions made by the organisation.
Despite the importance of the Board, and the subsequent powers offered to its elected officials, YUSU only recorded 329 votes in the election. Comparably, YUSU recorded 40,569 votes from 4,896 unique voters at the YUSU Sabb elections back in February. The difference is particularly staggering, as Blanchard will now operate on the same board that is presided over by YUSU’s elected Sabbs from the February election.