Last ditch effort

With just hours to go before polls closed for good Monday evening, candidates from all three slates patrolled the Park Blocks in front of the Smith Memorial Student Union encouraging students to vote.

ASPSU had a voting booth set up by the Park Blocks stage, where Communications Director Spencer Potter was on-hand directing voters to laptops and serving up free coffee and doughnuts.

“We started at 11,” Potter said. “We’ve been doing at least 11 to 2 since Wednesday.”

Potter said that at least 250 students voted at the ASPSU tent.

“It should be a good proportion of everyone who voted,” he said.

Student Fee Committee Chair candidate Johnnie Ozimkowski said he was using the last day of campaigning to talk with friends and make sure his constituents had voted. Even so, Ozimkowski said he was worried about the low turnout.

“Only 900 people have voted so far,” he said.

Ozimkowski added that he was concerned with the money ASPSU was spending on the refreshments it has been offering students.

“Everywhere I go it’s a giant waste of money,” he said. “Your money.”

Ozimkowski’s opponent for SFC chair, Jil Heimensen, was set up a little farther north with her piano.

“Everybody who stops by seems very responsive,” Heimensen said. “I’ve even had some converts who said they weren’t going to vote go vote. At least I get an ‘A’ for effort.”

Presidential candidate Jonathan Sanford spent a good portion of the day approaching students and encouraging them to use the ASPSU voting booth.

“The last day push is very good,” Sanford said. “The positive support is wonderful. It is nice to see faces I’ve seen again and again. With that said, it’s really sad to see a lot of people who don’t even know the election is going on.”

Sanford said he feared Portland State would see one of the lowest voter turnouts in university history.

“That’s why I was so angry at the E-Board,” Sanford said, referring to the frustration he displayed at an Elections Board meeting last week.

Another contender for the presidency, Sean Staub, was set up at a table near the Millar Library.

“I’ve actually had a number of conversations with people that have been pretty substantive,” Staub said, noting how difficult that can be.

Staub said that his campaign is going well and that he feel’s he is in a good position.

“I feel pretty confident,” he said. “Either way, however it goes … it’s been a great running experience.”

Results will be announced today at 1:30 p.m. in Parkway North, inside SMSU. The Vanguard will post results online immediately following the ceremony and will have full coverage in Wednesday’s edition.