Having spent nearly a third of his life in the military, ASPSU President-elect Jonathan Sanford said he has learned that open communication between a team striving for a similar goal is key to success.
Sanford, who will be sworn in as the new student body president on June 1, praised President Hannah Fisher’s administration and said he plans to emulate some of their methods. He added that his chief goal is to widen the formerly narrow lines of communication between campus officials and students.
And when the 26-year-old Sanford takes the reins, he plans it to be just one celebration of many.
“The student government has to do a lot more outreach for the student body and at the same time there has to be a lot more celebration. It sounds kind of corny, but a good way to get people together is to celebrate,” Sanford said.
Meanwhile, the Boring, Ore., native added that he aims to improve communication among student government officials.
“The way things worked was by personal cell phones and personal communications,” he said, noting that personal relationships between student officials formed the basis of the previous administration.
“What it will look like next year is, hopefully, that we all communicate on the same platform, so it doesn’t have to be based off who you know but what you know, and how well you communicate that,” Sanford said.
Fisher said she expects Sanford “to do a great job,” but noted that no candidate, Sanford included, ran with the support of the senate and Student Fee Committee, meaning it may be challenging for him to “buy people into [his] individual message.”
Communication may form the foundation of Sanford’s administration, but money may become his chief concern at a time when the state has few public dollars to share.
Portland State is performing massive budget cuts in some departments to curb a multimillion-dollar loss of state funding.
That could force Sanford to act as more of a lobbyist than his predecessors. And if so, Sanford’s connections to some of Oregon’s top political decision makers may prove one of his greatest assets.
Sanford worked for a year with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley in 2006, and has connections to U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer and State Sen. Rod Monroe.
Sanford said he met with Monroe—the Ways and Means Committee chair who signed off on the budget Monday—to discuss campus issues Friday.
“It was probably one of the best meetings I’ve had with a senator or representative,” Sanford said, noting that similar meetings to come could benefit the university.
Sanford said that one of his chief efforts will be to push for greater outreach for public transportation from city officials and other local leaders.
“Sixty percent of all transportation in Portland, for MAX and bus systems, ends up at Portland State,” he said.
Sanford said regardless of how state officials decide to hand out public dollars, he will work with his cabinet as if the worst-case scenario is certain.
“It’s a budget shortfall, and we have to expect at some point in the future a scenario where we expect zero funding from the state,” Sanford said. “I know it’s drastic, but if we can prepare for it now we won’t be caught with our pants down later.”
Sanford said he plans to retain some members of Fisher’s cabinet to aid with that effort, but declined to say whom. He added that he is open to hiring anyone who can show they’d benefit his cabinet, which will be filled May 28.
“We’re not trying to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We don’t want to screw up our administration by throwing out [Fisher’s] policies. We’re going to use what worked and change what we can change,” he said.