Last week, the Daily Editorial Board chastised the Government of the Student Body for putting forth only one set of candidates for next year’s GSB president and vice president.

We were surprised, then, when the next day now-former College of Business senator Tom Dworzanski publicized that the GSB election commissioner had extended the deadline for potential candidates to enter because of a technicality in the election code.

We were ready to cheer – GSB is, after all, composed of and for the students. More competition means more publicity, and that can only help GSB further its goals.

It came as an even bigger shock, then, when vice speaker Jeff Rothblum requested an emergency meeting of the Rules Committee to begin possible impeachment proceedings of election commissioner Mike Gilbert for acting outside of his power by changing the candidacy deadline.

That meeting happened – the committee declined to continue the witch hunt against Gilbert.

Where does this leave us?

There was a problem – not enough candidates for GSB executives. There was a solution – extend the deadline and cultivate more candidate interest.

Then there was a road block – Rothblum and all the other senators who insisted that the rules were more important than candidates and participation.

This fiasco has highlighted many of the flaws within GSB. As a member of the rules committee, Rothblum had the right to call out the commissioner’s actions. But, as Brian Phillips and Ian Guffy’s campaign manager up until he requested the meeting, Rothblum had a severe conflict of interest. He insists that he resigned as commissioner to quash such accusations, but as vice speaker, Rules Committee member and campaign manager, we wonder if he maybe shouldn’t have dipped his hands in all three to begin with.

Another problem was the election commissioner wasn’t seated until the 13th week of last semester. GSB bylaws state that he has to be sat by the sixth. The election commission was also selected at the last minute, in the days before the candidacy seminars. No wonder there’s all sorts of trouble now.

It’s true Gilbert acted unilaterally in extending the deadline, which he should not have done. It’s also true that by extending the deadline, he broke several other GSB bylaws. But the election commission can rectify these mistakes – there’s plenty more harm in not filling the ballot.

By again paring this election down to the one ticket, GSB has failed its constituents. The election commission had an opportunity to include two other pairs, were it to modify its rules this once. Instead, it chose to follow (most of) the rules, perpetuating the notion that GSB is a good ol’ boys (and girls) club that doesn’t really do anything anyway.

Would it have been fair to the candidates who followed the rules to extend the election? Not really. But it’s safe to say their jobs really weren’t an issue. Only 20 candidates are running for 40-some seats, and only one of those races is contested. And competition would hopefully force the next president and vice president to commit to the students, instead of getting a free ride.

We had an answer. We even had two more slates temporarily added to the ballot. In its quest to do something, GSB took a giant step backward.