ASUA hopes to recruit more senate candidates

ASUA officials decided to extend last week's deadline for students to decide whether to run for office to Feb. 6 after only nine students put themselves on the ballot for 10 senator spots.

At last night's candidate meeting, Dan Suh, ASUA elections commissioner, said the candidate packets deadline for the March elections has been extended to Feb. 6 in order to recruit more candidates, primarily for the senate positions.

Originally the packets were due Jan. 23, but once the candidate list was released, officials realized more people were needed to run for the positions and decided to extend the deadline.

As of yesterday, there were only nine candidates for 10 available senate spots, two candidates for administrative vice president and one candidate for executive vice president. Last year, 19 people ran for the senate.

Suh said the decision was made in order to maintain a competitive election.

"It's the only fair option," he said. "We considered the write-in votes, but a deadline extension seemed best."

Students who already turned in their candidate packets by the original date expressed frustration with the decision.

"This is not fair," said Stephanie Hartz, a biochemistry and molecular biophysics sophomore and senate candidate. "We all made the deadline, and everyone had an equal chance at making that date."

Josh Shapiro, an economics junior and presidential candidate, said he understands the need for more student involvement, but says he had to frantically run around to make the original deadline.

"A deadline is a deadline," he said. "With the new candidates, there should be some discretion on the ballot to indicate they came later."

Some candidates argued that only the senate and executive vice president positions should be opened. But Suh said that would not be fair. Blake Buchanan, a journalism sophomore and the sole candidate for executive vice president, said the extension could put newer candidates at an unfair advantage.

"The candidate list has already been released," he said. "Now, additional candidates will know who they are up against."

The abrupt decision also disturbed Buchanan, who is currently on the senate.

"Can you do this without consulting the senate?" he asked Suh. "I feel this decision undermines the senate."

Suh said the ASUA constitution and by-laws grant him the power to change the deadline. Suh also tried to assure candidates that the deadline extension will not hurt their campaigns.

"You guys still have the advantage since you have two weeks more under your belt," he said. "You will get more time and media exposure."

Luke Kollasch, a pre-education junior, was considering a write-in candidacy until he found out about the deadline extension. He wanted to run but couldn't decide by the Jan. 23 deadline.

Kollasch said that people who are frustrated with the decision shouldn't complain and, instead, use the fact that they got their paperwork done earlier to their advantage.

Kollasch said the extension is a good idea because more competition will create better candidates and a better senate in the long run, and he said he would be picking up a candidate packet tomorrow.

Despite the potential for more competition, Alistair Chapman, a physiology and molecular and cellular biology senior running for president, is also happy with the decision.

"I'm a lobbyist for ASUA, and I recognize that our job is all about giving students choices," he said.

Erin Hertzog, a journalism freshman and senate candidate, is also supportive of the decision.

"I guess it's only fair to have an actual race with the right number of candidates," she said.

Last year, 28 people ran for ASUA positions. This year, only 16 people met the deadline.

ASUA officials were hoping that this year would prove to be one that produced more, better qualified candidates because Suh started the elections process earlier than usual.

But J.P. Benedict, ASUA president, said that this emphasis on education may have deterred students from running for positions. He said students told him they were intimidated and decided not to run until they got more experience in ASUA.

He said he has not received this kind of response in the past.

Benedict said he hopes the extended deadline will bring those students back. "We hope that extending the deadline would send the message that students should give it a try because it is a great experience," he said.

He added that students should have a serious interest in a position and be prepared for it, but they shouldn't be too scared to run.

There will be a candidate forum on the Mall Feb. 8, and campaigning will still begin on its original date, Feb. 9.