Sam Dotters-Katz and Johnny Delashaw, candidates for ASUO president and vice president who are running on a platform of fiscal responsibility and reducing funding to OSPIRG, said Friday that they have joined the Oregon Action Team campaign.
“We found that their platform really aligned with our values,” said Tyler Scandalios, an Oregon Action Team candidate and current EMU Board member.
Dotters-Katz said no part of his and Delashaw’s platform would be changed as a result of formally joining the slate, but new items supported by all candidates could be added.
“We want to make sure this is a campaign about the policies and not the politics,” Dotters-Katz said.
According to his and Delashaw’s Facebook profile, those issues include decreasing funding to OSPIRG by $40,000 “which would be combined with an aggressive ASUO commitment to fundraising” for a program to subsidize textbook prices.
The profile also says that OSPIRG is not the only organization “mis-using OUR incidental fund, and fiscal reform must occur across the board.”
According to election filings, Michelle Haley is the slate’s campaign manager. David Rustad, formerly campaign manager for Dotters-Katz and Delashaw, is still advising the campaign.
Haley said that “the people who were involved as campaign managers at the beginning were a little overwhelmed” and the infrastructure of Oregon Action Team and the Dotters-Katz and Delashaw executive ticket was merged and reorganized.
She said Derek Nix, who as late as last week said he was Oregon Action Team’s campaign manager, “is running for PFC seat 3, that is his role.” Haley said Nix does not have any role in advising or managing the campaign “at this time.”
Nix could not be reached for comment.
There are two other candidates for ASUO president: Kari Herinckx, who is running on the Rock the Yellow slate with Jesse Hough, and Drew Cattermole, who has been endorsed by the Oregon Commentator. Cattermole has no running mate.
ASUO Elections Coordinator Kendell Tylee said there were two candidates for president, excluding Cattermole’s bid, when speaking at a meeting for candidates Friday evening. She said that a new executive team could be elected during the primary, which would allow for a greater focus on runoff elections for Senate seats.
The primary election will be held during the second week of spring term. The general election will occur during week three.
There are currently two executive debates scheduled. The first will take place in LLC Performance Hall Tuesday April 8. A second debate in Mills International Center is set for Tuesday April 15, and will be followed by an informal outdoor debate on April 16 in the EMU Amphitheater.
Dotters-Katz said that if it looks like the Mills International Center debate may not be necessary, he will request another debate during primary voting.
Friday’s meeting was billed as mandatory, but not all candidates were present. There will be another meeting Wednesday evening because the filing deadline has been extended.
Tylee said the deadline was extended because some positions are still without candidates. As of Friday evening, nearly 70 students filed as candidates or campaign managers.
No candidates have filed for the Senate seat representing architecture and allied arts students. Two at-large seats on the Programs Finance Committee have unopposed candidates, as does a seat on the Associated Students Presidential Advisory Council.
All other Senate seats have at least two candidates running. There are three candidates vying for each Senate seat on the Programs Finance Committee, three for one Senate seat on the EMU Board and four for one Senate seat on the Athletic Department Finance Committee.
There are also three candidates in each race for Senate seats representing business administration, social science and science students.
But journalism and education majors have the most competition for their votes. Senate seat 10 had five candidates as of Friday night: Alexander Tomchak, Devon Scarfe, Suzie Giacomelli and Bryan Saxton.
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