The Vanguard spoke with ASPSU President-Elect Jonathan Sanford and Student Fee Committee Chair-Elect Johnny Ozimkowski shortly after the election results were announced. Despite low voter turnout and controversy within the election board, the race is won, and both Sanford and Ozimkowski are eager to get started.
ASPSU President-Elect: Jonathan Sanford
Daily Vanguard: Are you happy with the results of the other positions?
Jonathan Sanford: I wish Dylan Enloe was also elected. He’s a good individual and a spectacular advocate. And if we’re going to use the Internet next year, he would have been a much better guy for the job.
DV: Will you consider bringing any the opponents you faced onto your staff?
JS: I would definitely hire-on the individuals that I ran with for the same position. Without any hesitation, I just need to make sure I have the right position for them.
DV: You have a few appointments to fill, any ideas so far?
JS: I do, but I am not going to say. I need to be respectful and I need to go through a long process before I choose the right people. That’s the only way to make it fair.
DV: Given the low turnout, is there anything you wish you had done differently during your campaign?
JS: Quite frankly, at this point I am focused on resting. I guess the only thing I wish I could have done better was to have worked with more people early on. It’s been tough. We’re an outside group and the benefit of that is we’re not jaded by the process or occupied by the goals of the old administration. The downside is we don’t have the staff, or the popular support.
DV: What are you plans for summer term?
JS: I was going to go to Australia if I didn’t win, be a ranch hand and read a lot of books. Considering I’ve got hiring to do, and putting people in, I will probably be skydiving a bit and riding horses as much as possible and sailing, to keep my head clear while I do the official duties. I’ve been talking to the ASPSU administration for this year and the year before, officially my focus is getting the best people on early, making sure they’re trained and that we have a strong coherent group.
SFC Chair-Elect: Johnny Ozimkowski
DV: Are you happy with the results of the other positions?
Johnny Ozimkowski: Yeah, I think as far as being the SFC chair, everyone that got elected to the SFC comes from a lot of different backgrounds. That’s going to create a really great dialogue. I need to get to know these people a lot better, the things that I ran on aren’t going to be possible if everyone on the SFC doesn’t know each other and doesn’t know their responsibilities.
DV: Looking back on your campaign, and in light of the low voter turnout, is there anything you wish you had done differently?
JO: I wish I would have known that I was going to run a little earlier, so I could’ve reached out a bit more. I wish I could have gotten to know more of the non-traditional students. It should be the job of every student government and every election to really get out and meet more nontraditional students.
DV: Jil didn’t win but she seems very committed to the SFC. Are you hoping she is appointed to the SFC?
JO: It would be a disadvantage to student government if she wasn’t involved next year. She can bridge the disconnect between traditional and non-traditional students. She’s committed, and definitely dedicated.
DV: Last year’s SFC fell apart before winter term even started, how do you plan to retain your members?
JO: Taking it as less of a committee and more of a team committed to making sure the student fee isn’t the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We are here to make sure that we can provide all students the support and access to be successful. Ultimately, what it comes down to is really just understanding that if you want to do a good job across the board, you just have to keep things together. I think being a little more independent will be really important.
DV: What are your plans, as the new chair, for summer term?
JO: We start getting paid in July, but there’s no reason why we can’t spend a couple of hours in June, once a week, to figure out what we can get done come July. I really just want to do a good job. Like Spiderman said, with a lot of power comes great responsibility.