Election Watch: I Used to Enjoy the Start of Spring
…but then I came to the UO. The first truly sunny day of the year is upon us. Campus is filled with people chatting, laughing, and soaking up the sun. But lurking in their midst are groups of people wearing brightly-colored t-shirts and carrying clipboards. Definitely a good day to stay off of 13th and avoid the OSPIRG jackals and irrepressible candidates.
The ASUO Voter’s Guide can be found here, by the way. I haven’t read all the way through it yet, but a few things did jump to my attention:
- VOTE FOR ME AND VOTE FOR JARED AND JULIANA
- I’m sorry, but “the juice is worth the squeeze” is a terrible campaign slogan for the Daniels/DuFour campaign. You’re running for ASUO Exec, not an AVN Award. And if you’re going to go that route, you should have at least used “Vote for the Double D’s.”
- “We want to hear your voices and speak to the issues that affect you, be you gay, graduate, athlete, Greek, international, or all of the above,” say Dallas Brown and Emily McLain. A tip for next year’s candidates: don’t list off the groups you say you want to listen to, because you will always leave someone out or forget to add “none of the above.”
- Of the Exec. candidates, Mann/Grace have the best write-up. It is straightforward and focused on their objectives rather than their credentials and reasoning (both of which are important, but not when you only have 300 words.)
- Dolberg/Hartley are the only Exec. campaign to show any signs of fiscal conservativism.
- Eric Kaltenbacher and Athan Papailiou got my votes (and will get the Commentator’s endorsement) with their writeups.
- Just vote No on Miles Rost glamour shots. (Vote Yes for Miles Rost the candidate, however.)
- Jennifer Lleras, to her credit, is open about who she will represent: “I will advocate for programs within the EMU to ensure that each program has a space both physically in the EMU and vocally in each meeting that I represent them in. The EMU’s budget should be spent towards better accessibility for all students, to encourage safety and to create a space where students see their incidental fee money with a clear student driven purpose. Through my dedication and passion for student’s rights and student’s voices I will be an advocate for you and for your organizations.” I’m not sure what a “clear student driven purpose” means, but I do know that the First Law of Student Government states: we do not represent students, we represent the interests of particular student groups.
- If I was Wally Hicks, I’d be pissed that the bullet points in my writeup didn’t show up.
- The only person running for ASPAC or the Rec Center Advisory Board who I don’t actively dislike after reading their writeup is Manisha Marberry.
