I am writing in response to a letter to the editor in yesterday’s (Feb. 25) Iowa State Daily by a Mr. Douglas A. Hogan.

I assume that Mr. Hogan has not attended any debates or has heard myself or my running mate speak. Mr. Hogan appears to be uninformed on the whole proceeding of the GSB elections, having stated that Jeff Halliburton was running for president and is currently a GSB senator.

To clarify our slate in the GSB election, I, Rory Flaherty, a junior in construction engineering from LeMars, Iowa, am running for GSB president. I am currently an off-campus senator. Jeff Halliburton, a junior in anthropology from Ames, is my running mate. And for the record, I have not plagiarized Rob Wiese’s platform, as Mr. Hogan insinuated.

I have been planning my election for the executive slate since March of 1996, after I failed to make the signature count for last year’s presidential election. Last year, 2,500 signatures were required to make it on the ballot. With 48 hours remaining to turn in petitions, with the help of many friends, I collected over 1,300. I believe that is a true sign of dedication to the job.

Also, to clear up another point, at the last debate, neither Jeff nor I admitted to stealing ideas from Rob Wiese. This can be proved, for the debate was taped and televised. ALL of my goals for GSB were planned months before the signature collection process began. All candidates have some overlap in their goals for GSB; I believe that Rob Wiese and I only share the interest in reforming teacher evaluations, something I had already submitted as legislation to the Senate over six weeks ago.

Jeff and I ran to clean up GSB and its image. In this campaign we have stressed honesty and integrity. We have not, and will not, throw mud at the other candidates, as I believe Mr. Hogan did.

To say that we are out for a ‘power trip,’ as Mr. Hogan stated, is not true. I must remind the public that this is not a popular job. I have never been envious of Adam Gold. This is a position that takes so much criticism from the public that the best candidates for the position never run. I add Mr. Hogan to that group of people who are uninformed, have made no effort to get informed, and have blatantly spouted off their opinions to the paper with no thought as to their consequences.

I believe there is a strong connection between Mr. Hogan and IRHA President Rob Wiese, as Mr. Hogan is currently the vice president of external affairs for the IRHA. I wish for the readers of this publication to disregard all statements Mr. Hogan has made toward any presidential slate, as he is obviously biased and has made absolutely no attempt to present the truth in yesterday’s letter.

Rory Flaherty

Junior

Construction Engineering

GSB Presidential Candidate