Voting begins today for the 2003-04 ASUO offices, and so the Emerald offers its endorsements. This year is the first in recent memory when the paper has covered ASUO Student Senate and other races in any depth, and it was important to do so. Students should be involved with the ASUO, and having a say in who gets elected is the first step.
Perhaps it’s because the paper interviewed every senatorial candidate, or perhaps it’s because the interviews happened so early in the process, but whatever the reason, some candidates seem to have little idea what they’re getting into and little idea what they want to accomplish.
Would you show up to a job interview and tell the employer that you sort of knew what the job entailed and sort of had ideas, but you would be sure to figure it all out as soon as they hired you?
There were good candidates in the mix, though, and we hope to shed some light on them. We used no litmus test or one-size-fits-all philosophy when choosing. Each race demanded something different.
For the record, the “rules” questions didn’t weigh heavily in the editorial board’s decisions. It seemed more important that candidates knew the rules existed than that they could quote them. And some candidates lost points by becoming hostile or saucy when asked about the rules. Politely saying “I don’t know” seems more professional.
Whomever you choose to support, be involved with your student government and vote!

ASUO Executive

Maddy Melton

Eddy Morales
The candidates for ASUO Executive have improved in the past few years. As student leaders have become more professional, so have the people wanting to follow their lead. This year, four tickets seemed to have their ducks in a row, and three of them offer students a clear choice.
Jarrett White and Greg McNeill are not the average “angry conservative” ticket. They have some good ideas, especially encouraging dissenting voices to speak, and the editorial board shares their almost populist bias — that more “regular” students should be involved in and represented by their government. Also, if you want to see OSPIRG dismantled as forcefully as President George W. Bush is dismantling terrorism, White is your man.
On the other end of the “regular” student spectrum is Christa Shively and Greg Bae. Both are seasoned in student government, and Shively alone has enough experience to be three ASUO insiders.
In the middle, though, is our choice: Maddy Melton and Eddy Morales. Both of them have been involved with the executive, for a short time. Before that, both of them were involved with student groups, working alongside “regular” students. We think this makes them especially fit to represent the widest array of students possible, while still knowing how to get things done in the executive office.
The Melton-Morales and Shively-Bae tickets easily have the strongest platforms, and in some ways, they’re similar.
Both mention housing, although working to let students out of undesirable living situations is a worthier cause than working to give them greater food options — and both will need Housing Director Mike Eyster’s approval or a lot of grassroots organizing. Melton and Morales have experience in successful grassroots organizing.
Both tickets mention legislative issues, but Melton and Morales know how to get this work done. They both have worked so “regular” students would be heard by state and federal lawmakers, and Melton has lobbied in Washington, D.C., to ensure greater access to higher education and increase student voter turnout, among other issues.
Both tickets have outreach ideas, and we think they’re all laudable, although we lean toward the Melton-Morales platforms of broadening support of and ties with the graduate, law and international student communities through concrete action. The ASUO can be made stronger if it’s less like a club and represents more stakeholder groups at the University.
As Melton herself said during Monday night’s debates, every student has a different viewpoint, but the important thing is what people have in common. Melton and Morales will best represent those commonalities, and we urge you to vote for them.

Senate Seat 1, PFC

Beth Overgard
In the first PFC race, we appreciate Overgard’s down-to-earth answers and straightforward approach. Having an open mind when approaching student groups and their budgets is critical, and we’re positive student groups agree with her top issue of concern: “The biggest issue that each group has in common would be bias within the committees.” Overgard’s fresh voice will be welcome on PFC.

Senate Seat 2, PFC

Greg Diamond
Diamond is our hands-down winner. He has political experience working on a gubernatorial campaign, and his familiarity with student government showed. We agree that the campus should be a more vibrant place after classes and would like to see
community-building events. We like that he has concrete ideas and knowledge about the cost of tuition and about accountability in student fees. Diamond will bring an open mind and open door to the senate.

Senate Seat 3, PFC

Adrian Gilmore
This race was closer than Seat 2. While Gilmore was a bit thin on concrete ideas, he did know what he was getting into and emphasized negotiation with student groups. Even though it’s not a senate “duty,” Gilmore’s focus on equal and fair representation is worthy of note. The runner-up in this race was Alyce Chong, but her answers sounded like descriptions of what she’s already done, instead of plans for the future. For that reason, Gilmore edged her out and deserves your vote.

Senate Seat 4, EMU

Rodrigo Moreno Villamar
Villamar currently works closely with student groups based in the EMU, so he knows what they do and what their needs are better than the other candidates. Attending Multicultural Center Board meetings gives him the background he needs to work effectively as a senator and an understanding of the value of diversity on campus. While we applaud his interest in having group collaborate on campus events, we would have liked more specifics. Still, we appreciate Villamar’s honesty about the rules, and he is the best choice.

Senate Seat 6, EMU

Jerad Nicholson
This race is another slam-dunk. Nicholson knows about the office for which he’s running, lists tuition and access to education as the top issues for students, and wants to reduce the gap between “regular” students and student government. He’s well-spoken and obviously has thought about the job. In comparison to James George, who said that answering two questions about rules was “harsh” and “more than a quiz,” Nicholson is an easy choice.

Senate Seat 7, ADFC

Laura Schulthies
We are endorsing Schulthies, partly because her interview was the only one we had to work with. We like that she would approach the office intending to “splash it up with my own personality and goals.” Other than that, we have problems. The Athletic Department Finance Committee races, though, are all a minefield of vacuous answers and confusion. We slogged through and made the hard decisions, anyway. Vote for Schulthies.

Senate Seat 8, ADFC

Jesse Harding
Perhaps the only strong ADFC candidate, Harding has experience in ASUO and is informed about what ADFC actually does. His leadership experience and interest in the process will serve him well, and students will be served by his concern about student tickets as well as larger issues, such as rising tuition. Harding is the obvious choice.

Senate Seat 9, ADFC

Kevin Day
This race has no winners. Day appeared to be the lesser of bad choices. Patrick Sullivan might be a fine candidate, once he looks into the position.

Senate Seat 13 A&L/JournalismStefan Myers
Myers won this race by the largest margin of our endorsements, winning our preference voting system with 17 times as many points as his nearest competitor. Myers was an effective and involved leader at Clackamas Community College (an editorial board member was a student there while he was student body president), he has solid ideas and he brings a wealth of experience to the table. The journalism school will be well represented by him.

Senate Seat 15

Social Science

Adam Turcott
Turcott will be a refreshing voice in student government. Coming off a stint as Residence Hall Association finance chairman, he brings some experience and many new ideas to the senate. He offered a concrete suggestion for increasing communication with his constituency, and like a few other candidates, would like to see more events that help enliven the campus community and draw more people together. Turcott will keep students involved in government.

Senate Seat 16

Science

Paul Griffes
Griffes was one of our favorite candidates overall. At times his answers were long-winded, but they always contained good ideas. We share Griffes’ concern about the University’s push for more autonomy from government oversight, we agree with him that senate should have put an anti-war-resolution ballot measure before the students, and we appreciate his attention to students who, as he says, don’t fit “that 18-to-22-year-old, Mom-and-Dad-are-paying-for-it profile.”
Griffes is thoughtful and engaged, and he’ll make a good senator.

Senate Seat 17

Business

Erik Fordyce
Fordyce gives business students a no-nonsense, business-oriented choice for senate, and we recommend they take it. Fordyce’s focus and ideas revolve around giving the business school better representation, acquiring more University funding for business clubs and having more outreach from companies to the school. He seems prepared and well-equipped to sit on senate.

EMU Board At-Large

Midterm seat

Slade Leeson
None of the candidates for this race offered a lot of detail, but Leeson has the strongest grasp of the fiscal issues facing EMU groups and a willingness to maintain service levels. He also suggested looking for outside sources for fundraising to help maintain services, which we support.

Associated Students Presidential

Advisory Council

Nick Hudson
Hudson has great experience and legislative knowledge, thanks to his work in ASUO this year. That brings a strong understanding of the issues affecting students, including the affordability of college, the recruitment and retention of minorities on campus and working more closely with the community. This was a close race, though, and Alex Gonzalez also would make a fine choice.