In a move catching Cornell Democrats by surprise, Alexandra Sanchez ’03, president of the Cornell Democrats, announced her resignation in the club’s e-mail listserv yesterday.
“I’m taking a personal leave of absence,” Sanchez said.
“We’re sorry to see Alex go. She was a great leader, got along well and was a real friend. I speak for everyone when I wish her the best of luck,” said Dan Dimendberg ’03, secretary-treasurer.
“It’s good to see that people have personal priorities in mind. A lot of college students take a semester off at some point,” said Mike Moschella ’02, director of community relations.
Almost immediately, speculation arose about who would be the next president. Josh Roth ’03, who ran against and lost to Sanchez, said, “I’d like to step in and serve as president.”
“I’ll leave it to the voters,” said Jamison Moore ’04, the unsuccessful Democrat-sponsored candidate for the Ithaca Common Council, who is also running to take Sanchez’s place.
Although it is still unclear when the elections will be held, the consensus seems to be that elections will take place within the next week or two at the club’s regular Wednesday meetings.
It remains to be seen whether one of the current officers may seek a promotion. Group publicity officer Thomas Leung ’02 was unavailable for comment. Dimendberg ruled it out, and Moschella, the former president who did not seek re-election last year, was non-committal.
How this will affect the group’s activities is still unclear, but officers remain confident that all of this semester’s upcoming activities are already planned.
“There are enough dedicated people that the group will thrive,” Sanchez said.
Archived article by Peter Norlander