ASUO Executive: The ASUO president sets a political agenda, has the final decision on $10 million going toward ASUO committee budgets and appoints positions including student senators and administrators.
One-year term
Toss up: Ashley Rees and Jael Anker-Lagos; Adam Walsh and Kyla Coy
The Emerald is endorsing two sets of ASUO executive candidates.
Rees and Anker-Lagos have experience within the ASUO, which means they are more likely to be dependable. Having a higher level of understanding about the ASUO also means they have a good handle on what needs to be achieved and how to achieve it. Concrete platform ideas, such as making course syllabi accessible to students before a class starts and itemizing resource fees to understand where student money is going, also add to the appeal of Rees and Anker-
Lagos. An experienced executive with new ideas could be exactly what this campus needs to see real benefits.
However, their experience could also translate into a lack of fresh ideas. And Anker-Lagos was present on the Sunriver retreat earlier this year, funded by student money, wherein ASUO representatives violated the University Student Conduct Code. We question her accountability in that matter.
Walsh and Coy represent fresh leadership at the University, and they are well-versed in community affairs. The Emerald especially approves of their platform to build a stronger liaison between the Eugene government and the ASUO. As a current member of the West University Neighborhood board of directors, Walsh seems to have the qualifications needed to build that city-University bridge. Coy has been involved in Eugene city politics through internships. The Walsh-Coy platform also contains tangible benefits, such as increasing jobs and internships in the Eugene area for University students.
This ticket’s lack of knowledge about the inner-workings of the ASUO could make it difficult for Walsh and Coy to swiftly and efficiently work toward their platforms, however. Platform ideas such as systematic changes within the Programs Finance Committee are interesting, but they could prove troublesome to implement if the ASUO president and vice president have only a basic understanding of how these and other ASUO groups are run.
Programs Finance Committee: Helps allocate about $5.2 million of student fee money and participates in vote for an additional $5 million.
Seat 1: One-year term
Miles Rost
Rost recognizes accountability and spending problems within the ASUO, and his firm, one-strike stance on breaking University and state laws sets him above the competition. We also applaud his readiness to cut wasteful expenditures. He’s also got prior budgeting experience.
Seat 3: Two-year term
Alex Bjorvik
We love that Bjorvik is open to members of the press attending ASUO retreats. Also, his job qualifications are impeccable: He has served on a budget committee where he made budgetary cuts, and he’s got a background in business. We applaud his goal of working closely with student groups to establish budgets that meet the PFC benchmark.
Student Senate: Has some control over more than $10 million in student incidental fees and is composed of
18 elected students.
Seat 11: Two-year term
Justin Wheeler
Although we’re fairly sure Wheeler will be a good leader, our endorsement of his candidacy primarily lies in his lack of solid competition. We’re not happy that he has never attended a Senate meeting or that he has little idea what issues the Senate should be dealing with. However, we applaud his desire to learn and his participation in leadership training.
Seat 13: Two-year term
Patrick Wurtz
We like that Wurtz is committed to keeping an open door for student comments and concerns. However, Seat 13 could probably go to someone who has more solid stances on issues and a better understanding of Senate — Wurtz is lucky his competition is even more vague than he is.
Seat 16: Two-year term
Toss up: Brian Cappy; Jessica Nair
Both candidates seem eager to do … something … in ASUO, but we’re not sure if either Cappy or Nair possess the experience or knowledge necessary to edge out the other.
EMU Board: Allocates a roughly $3.7 million budget and formulates policies and long-range plans for the EMU; it also plays a significant role in management of the 55-year-old student union.
At-large: Two-year term
Slade Leeson
Leeson has the experience to qualify him for the job. We applaud his efforts to keep the student union’s focus on students, and his past work proves him to be a hard-working official worthy of this position.
At-large: Midterm
Drew Kincaid
We like the specifics of Kincaid’s platform, including improvements to bring the Red Room and The Break to their full potential. His platform, which includes better publicity for programs, underscores his grasp on student issues. His leadership experience with his fraternity and campus organizations work to his credit.
Seat 4: One-year term
Bill Hatch
Hatch has more leadership experience than other candidates, and although he lacks confidence, he makes up for it in potential and ambition. Giving Hatch a chance now will help build a better-qualified candidate for the future.
Seat 6: Two-year term
Barett Volkmann
We applaud Volkmann’s platform of rewarding programs that create their own funding. With experience serving on Senate Seat 16, he knows the ins and outs of the ASUO, and with his call for
transparency in the government, Volkmann is the right student for this position.
Athletic Department Finance Committee: Bargains with the Athletics Department to secure student tickets for football and men’s basketball games and acts on all matters relating to the allocation and appropriation of incidental fees for the Athletics Department.
Seat 7: One-year term
Toby Piering
With one year of experience under his belt as an appointed member of the ADFC plus stints as vice chairman of the Programs Finance Committee and as an ASUO Executive intern, Piering is the ideal candidate for Seat 7. We like that he sees the no-show factor for athletics tickets as a multifaceted problem, values viewpoint neutrality and seeks to remind leaders they are spending student money.
The Associated Students Presidential Advisory Council: Meets with University President Dave Frohnmayer twice each term to advise him on student concerns.
At-large
Jontae Grace
The Emerald endorses Grace for the ASPAC at-large position because he brings up important, concrete points in his platform summary and also addresses issues of interest for the ASUO Executive. Grace wants to improve leader-student communications. His ideas strike us as feasible.
For candidate interview transcripts and summaries, visit www.dailyemerald.com. Vote in the ASUO primary elections today through Friday on DuckWeb: http://duckweb.uoregon.edu.

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