In a previous version of this article, Spinnaker displayed a complaint from Joy Bowerman under a quote stating that the complaint was filed from the Ignite Party against Boyer. Bowerman says they are apart of the Solidarity Party and claims that the complaint is not against Boyer. Spinnaker takes errors very seriously and apologizes for any confusion.

A Letter to the Editor was submitted to Spinnaker that detailed the specific documents surrounding the attempted impeachment of Darryl Boyer, former Elections Commissioner and current Vice-Presidential candidate of the Charge party. The letter was submitted by Kayla Dougherty, the current Vice-President (VP) of the Student Government, and contained nine different judicial complaints as well as numerous screenshots of concerning Snapchat messages. 

Dougherty provided Spinnaker with sensitive Snapchat screenshots of a conversation who she says is between Boyer and an undisclosed person. In Oct., SG brought up the messages in the impeachment meeting, but “in the trial, Boyer argued that they were completely irrelevant to the impeachment, and the Senate agreed, with the majority of those in attendance voting to throw the messages out,” according to a previous Spinnaker article. Now Spinnaker has received the messages months later, and fairly close to the SG elections.

In response to why she decided to reveal this now and not earlier, Dougherty said:

“To be honest, I believe RK [Senate President Pro Tempore SaiRahul Kilambi] jumped the gun in trying to impeach Darryl. Darryl had committed some illegal offenses, but those pale in comparison to what came later. Everything included in the judicial complaint occurred after the impeachment— during and after the fall election. I had to file a records request to obtain the files, which took weeks. After receiving those and seeing the hearings, I came to believe that his behavior was unethical and inappropriate.”

She said that she was surprised Spinnaker didn’t take more interest in them after the impeachment trial and felt that Darryl was portrayed as a victim. Because he’s now running for office, she feels that it’s important that the student body knows about them and everything else Boyer has done that, in her opinion, had a negative impact on Student Government. 

Last fall, Articles of Impeachment were filed against Darryl Boyer in a historic attempt to impeach a Student Government official. The messages were brought up in the past but were ultimately dismissed. According to the prosecution, Boyer violated the rules of his position by using his title of Election Commissioner in an endorsement. Ultimately, charges were dropped in a failed two-thirds vote.  

While Boyer was not impeached in the Fall of 2020, he went on to step down from the position of Elections Commissioner. Prior to his resignation, multiple judicial complaints were filed against Boyer, as well as one that was never heard by the Judicial Branch. 

Dougherty informed Spinnaker that she submitted the letter not as current VP of Student Government but as a student who believes that it is imperative that students are fully aware of who they are voting for. 

The Letter to the Editor submitted by Dougherty included screenshots of a Snapchat conversation that allegedly took place between Darryl Boyer and a former student. The messages were sent to President Schneider, who was concerned about Darryl Boyer’s conduct. 

“I think students outside of the Senate should also be aware of these messages. It’s important that the student body knows this,” Dougherty said.

Boyer gave the following response to Spinnaker in regards to the Snapchat message and recent complaints against him:  

“Two years ago, I decided to further my education at the University of North Florida. That same year, I decided to join Student Government. I chose to join SG, not for a title or resume builder. I did what every great leader decided to do, I chose to serve those within my community. Despite recent lies and attempts to assassinate my character, values, and uniqueness – I will continue to do what I love most, help others and remind them that they’re a valuable asset to society.”

Boyer also shared with Spinnaker a letter of recommendation written for him by John Winston, President Emeritus and CEO of the African American Mentor Program in the Flagler County School District in Florida. The letter described Boyer as someone with a strong desire to serve others through good citizenship. It said he has a caring and sharing demeanor that marks him as a future leader of the highest order. 

Dougherty believes that Boyer was retaliatory, biased, and corrupt in his decision-making during the Fall 2020 election. “These are not qualities that fit the Student Body Vice President role, or any role in SG,” Dougherty stated in her letter to the editor.

Dougherty’s letter claimed that Darryl Boyer did the following: 

• Failed at his job as Elections Commissioner by acting with bias
• Used his position to retaliate against political opponents
• Made private text messages public without informing the involved party
• Attempted to intimidate the chairs of the Ignite Party
• Attempted to invalidate the Fall Election by approving absurd complaints – some of which he wrongly filed himself.

Spinnaker obtained documents of the complaints filed against Boyer by Dougherty. 

According to Dougherty within her letter, “Part of the role of the Elections Commissioner is to find merit in complaints that are filed against parties. The purpose of this is to determine that there is a reasonable amount of evidence of breaking a Student Government law.”

The letter also claimed that when it came to the election complaints this past fall, Boyer filed complaints out inappropriately and attached his own “evidence” to other students’ complaints to ensure the complaint went through against the party no matter what the complaint said. The letter also claims that Boyer attached private text messages to a complaint without letting the involved person know, and he used evidence from other complaints to create his own.

Complaint and text messages received by Spinnaker.

It is Dougherty’s belief that these are all potential violations of our Student Government laws.

Dougherty’s letter also stated that there were identical complaints filed against four other candidates running in the fall. According to Dougherty, while they were identical complaints that were filed, Boyer only found merit in the complaints against two candidates, one of whom had filed the articles of impeachment against Boyer and one of whom is the chair of the Ignite Party. As stated in the letter, the most reasonable explanation for Boyer only finding merit in two out of the four identical complaints is that he was acting out in retaliation against those who supported his impeachment trial. Dougherty’s belief was that Boyer was favoring the two who voted to keep him in office. 

“This is completely against the duty of the Office of Elections – to be unbiased. This is not a redeeming quality for a Student Body Vice President – or any position in Student Government,” Dougherty said in the letter.

According to a statement filed by a member of the Ignite Party, it was expressed that Boyer would act like he was helping their Party, but would then attempt to intimidate the members. 

“What most concerned us was individual interactions with the Elections Commissioner himself. There were several instances in which we had conversations with him regarding elections and questions we had, where he gave us permission to do something or told us something was permissible, but later denied having the conversation,” said the member in a statement regarding the situation stated.

Dougherty  said, “I have a duty to the UNF Student Government and to the student body to inform the student body of what truly happened last semester.” She believes that the actions Darryl Boyer took leave her no choice but to inform the student body of the wrong things that have occurred.

She goes on to say how students have to always be at the center of everything a member of the Student Government does. Dougherty says that the job should never be about personal vendettas or winning for the sake of winning. “This is not a complaint, this is information,” states Dougherty. She says that students must be fully informed about who they are voting for when making their decisions.

Dougherty concluded her letter by stating, “I urge you all to consider this information when you cast your vote this semester. What type of people do you want representing you?”

In addition, Boyer filed a complaint against the Ignite Party stating that they themselves violated SG policies.

When Spinnaker informed Boyer that we had the Snapchat screenshots, he responded in an email stating, “These messages were agreed to be thrown out. I am being framed and this will be dealt with… I recommend record requesting the hearing meeting.”

Spinnaker has requested all public records concerning the Oct. trial of Darryl Boyer, to further investigate the case. We are also continuing to contact all of the parties involved as the situation continues to unfold. Spinnaker will be meeting with Boyer for an interview later this evening to discuss the matter further.

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For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.