Following a series of controversies, Santa Fe College Senate President Jeremy Pierce announced Wednesday he will not be running for re-election.
He made his announcement during the first Senate meeting of 2015, saying that after what he described as a “pretty rough semester,” he would be passing on the position to another senator.
Pierce said he wanted to announce his decision to give senators time to think about whether they want to run.
His decision to bow out comes after months of criticism from Student Government members who said Pierce has threatened to remove senators who oppose — accusations that he denies.
When asked why he would not be running for re-election, he laughed and said, “I want to go ahead and graduate.”
“Senate needs a Senate president,” he continued, adding that he’s considering graduating in December, which would prevent him from filling out the entire yearlong term.
“Knowing that ahead of time, I think it would just be irresponsible of me to try and take it on,” he said, adding that there were no other reasons for him not running for re-election.
Director of Internal Affairs Benjamin Myers — a critic of Pierce — said it’s normal for students to only serve as Senate president for one year.
He added the controversy surrounding Pierce likely led to his decision.
“If there’s fire, most people don’t want to get their feet under it,” Myers said. “Hopefully the next Senate president is better.”
Before he leaves his position, Pierce said he has “tons of plans” for SG this semester but would not say what they are.
It is unknown who the potential Senate presidential candidates are, but Sen. Connor Levine and Chief Justice Kyle Ramirez have said discussions about the vacancy have begun in SG.
Ramirez has said he is stepping down from his position, and Levine has stated that he is content with his current position as senator.
Shortly after announcing he would not run for re-election, Pierce told any senators wishing to run for Senate president to stop by his office to “learn the ropes” of the role.
“I’m ready to start training,” he said.
“This is the time, because when March 25 comes, I’ll pass the gavel, and I’ll be gone.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/8/2015 under the headline "Santa Fe Senate president declines to run for re-election" It included two errors: That senators normally serve for one year, instead of one semester and that in a quote from Senate President Jeremy Pierce he said "gauntlet" instead of "gavel."]
