Sachs faces possible SGA impeachment

SGA City Council Liaison Jonathan Sachs will face impeachment next week, as one legislator charged him with shirking meetings he is required to attend.

Sachs, who served as Student Government Association president last year, admitted he has only attended about one legislature meeting a month during his tenure as city council liaison, while SGA rules require him to attend two.

Citing this attendance record and missed meetings in an SGA committee, arts and humanities legislator Kenton Stalder motioned to impeach Sachs last night.

The legislature did not vote on Stalder's motion after a group of legislators recommended to move the impeachment vote to next week in order to give Sachs a chance to respond to the accusations.

For his part, Sachs, who was not present at last night's meeting, said he has attended nearly every College Park City Council meeting — another requirement of his job — and said when he misses SGA meetings, it is because he doesn't have anything to report.

"I've always gone when there's been something relevant to say," he said. "My job is to be at city council meetings, and those are anywhere from four to five hours every Tuesday, and they're very demanding."

Sachs said Stalder did not address him about his concerns or inform him before his impeachment motion. Sachs called the motion "cowardly" and said Stalder has plotted his impeachment since he came into office.

"He's made it clear to other people ... that this was his intention," Sachs said. "I'm not surprised. ... This is a personal thing."

Stalder acknowledged that he's never spoken personally to Sachs, but he said others have.

"Concerns have been expressed before, not by me, but by other people, and they were not satisfied, so we moved forward," he said. "He has been aware that this motion has been in the air for a long time."

Of the 18 executive cabinet meetings the SGA has held so far this year, Sachs has attended three, Stalder said. According to SGA rules, the city council liaison must attend all of these meetings.

The liaison is also required to attend the SGA's weekly Department of Public Affairs and Department of Governmental Affairs meetings; Stalder said Sachs missed most of those meetings before being excused from those responsibilities last October.

SGA President Steve Glickman said he excused Sachs from those particular commitments but not from the others.

Glickman would not comment on Stalder's motion but said he was aware of Sachs' absences.

Leonardtown legislator Andre Beasley spoke out on Sachs' behalf.

"He knows a lot more about the city than perhaps anyone in this room," he said.

But Stalder remained steadfast in his motion.

"I know this is a hard vote to make; I know this is a very sticky issue and it makes people uncomfortable ... but just imagine if any of us had this kind of record," he said.

Sachs said that, in the end, fulfilling his responsibility has little to do with his attendance record.

"I know what it is to be an advocate for the student body," he said. "The ultimate goal of those requirements is that I'm fulfilling my responsibility, and I am."

aisaacs@umdbk.com