Candidates shake hands, talk politics

[portfolio_slideshow id=49010]

Candidates running for office in the upcoming Associated Students of Portland State University election gathered Tuesday for an informal meet and greet, where the mood was friendly as candidates mingled with the opposition and engaged in friendly conversation.

ASPSU elections have had a history of hostility, but presidential candidate James Au said the mood is different
this year.

“We’re all students here,” Au said. “What is the point of animosity?”

Max Werner, who is running on Au’s slate, added, “It’s very important to be proactive, not reactive.”

Werner, a junior in accounting, is running for the ASPSU student fee committee. Currently, Werner serves on the organization budget council. This subcommittee of the SFC is in charge of funding student organizations.

Werner feels his experience in the OBC has prepared him to work in the SFC, which involves distributing the $14 million in student fees collected each year. Working in the SFC would be similar to working in the OBC, Werner said, but “on a bigger scale.”

Werner is confident in his ability to make decisions about such a large budget, given that the OBC has a similar function. “The SFC gives the OBC a large amount of money to work with,” Werner said. The only difference, Werner said, is that instead of making decisions about funding for student groups and student activities, he would be making decisions about funding for departments.

Several of the other candidates who attended the meet and greet emphasized the need for civil elections where the focus is on the candidate’s plans rather than controversy.

Vice presidential candidate Yesenia Silva Hernandez, who is running with Harris Foster, said the way to achieve her goals for increasing minority representation is through a cooperative ASPSU. “We need to be able to work together as a team to better represent students.”

Hernandez said that many PSU students aren’t aware of the resources that are available to them, such as cultural centers. Increasing minority representation is a theme among candidates on the Foster-Hernandez slate.

One such candidate is Tia Gomez Zeller, a current senator who is running for the SFC. Gomez Zeller wants to focus on ensuring that minority organizations are well represented on the SFC.

“I want to be sure that, next year, our fees will be going to those organizations,” she said.

As for cooperation, Gomez Zeller said, “We’re just here to help,” adding that the candidates had reached a point where they didn’t see the point of fighting each other when they could be working together.

Elvin Ramirez, also on the Foster-Hernandez slate, is running for the SFC with the goal of “creating an ethical and moral and fair SFC.” Ramirez supports increased funding and representation for minorities. “We take governance like a family, like a mother that takes care of the ones that need more help,” Ramirez said of those goals.

Ramirez also advocates a 5-percent decrease in ASPSU salaries in order to foster social equity. In that area, Ramirez has some common ground with Au, who said of compensation for student government members: “We do this as a passion. I don’t think that money should matter.”

Another candidate who attended the gathering was Thomas Howell, a senior in philosophy who is running for the senate. If elected, Howell would support rewriting ASPSU’s constitution in order to take away some of the executive branch’s powers. “I don’t think there are adequate checks and balances,” Howell said.

Evan Hoffman, a political science sophomore, is running for senate as well. Hoffman believes ASPSU needs to be more transparent. He wants ASPSU to “get out there and get us known to the student body so they know what we’re doing.”