Only 11 candidates have filed to run for positions in student government so far, but the ASUO elections coordinator said the elections board is not worried and expects many candidates to wait until closer to the March 11 deadline.
“I know of at least a couple of candidates who’ll be filing at the end of the week or next week, so I’m not concerned,” Elections Coordinator Aaron Tuttle said.
Among the students already registered are three candidates for ASUO president – ASUO Sens. Emma Kallaway and Carina Miller and junior Ryan McCarrel. Kallaway and Miller have both been involved in the ASUO for over a year, and had disclosed plans to run before the filing deadline. McCarrel, however, has never held a position within the ASUO.
McCarrel appeared before the ASUO at the Feb. 25 Senate meeting, where he said he was upset with lack of outreach to students who did not already hold positions in student government and called for a greater presence in Salem by ASUO senators. McCarrel also called spending by ASUO finance committees irresponsible in a struggling economy.
“This is the only institution in the entire state that’s talking about increasing its budget,” he said. McCarrel first appeared before a student forum at the beginning of last year’s election season voicing similar concerns, but then never ran in elections or participated in student government.
All three of the presidential candidates have announced vice-presidential running mates. McCarrel will be running with junior Ian Baldwin, Miller will be running with Sen. Nick Gower and Kallaway will be running with Black Student Union President Getachew Kassa.
“There’s going to be four, maybe five executive tickets,” Tuttle said. “That, in and of itself, is unique.”
ASUO Sen. Nick Schultz, who said he plans to run for president as well, predicted having more candidates would bring out more voters, which has been a consistent problem for the ASUO. EMU Board chair Michelle Haley, who has also been rumored to be planning a presidential campaign, said candidates’ friends are often what constitutes their “pool of constituents.”
“More candidates can get more people involved,” Schultz said, later adding, “I think it’s a good thing.”
The other five students who registered are all candidates for Senate seats. Two were running for Seat 19, representing the School of Journalism and Communication, which Tuttle said was a surprise after the seat was open for more than two months this year.
Senior Suzie Giacomelli ran unopposed for the seat in the last election, only to resign citing the workload for senators. After she left in December, ASUO president Sam Dotters-Katz appointed Oregon Commentator editor CJ Ciaramella to fill the seat, but the Senate rejected the appointment on January 28. The seat was then open until Feb. 25, when Deborah Bloom was appointed to fill it.
Tuttle said the controversy surrounding the seat was probably responsible for the interest in it .
“Because of the amount of advertising and coverage it got, I think there was a lot more awareness of Seat 19,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle said the ASUO elections board will try to increase awareness of the elections through posters, advertisements, e-mails and Facebook.
“We’re kind of just operating under the assumption that people are waiting,” he said.