ASUA candidates woo electorate on a budget

The posters candidates put up in classrooms, the banners they hang from residence halls and the handbills they pass out as students walk to class are all limited by regulations in the Associated Students Elections Code.

Candidates for ASUA president cannot exceed a campaign spending limit of $300. Vice presidential candidates cannot spend over $240. Senate candi-dates' expenditures are capped at $180.

Violations of the code can result in disqualification or a fine of up to $25. Penalties are determined by the elections commissioner, who oversees the election.

"It isn't hard to spend under the limit as long as you do your homework," said Stephanie Lyons, a political science junior running for the Senate.

Lyons said that after calling printing companies, she ordered 300 posters from Arizona Print/Copy for about $100, making it her largest campaign expense.

Lyons and Sean Murray, candidate for executive vice president and a finance junior, said they handed out fliers printed at Kinko's.

Murray said he was able to spend under $20 for 3,000 fliers.

Undergraduate Senate Chairman Gilbert Davidson, who is running for ASUA president, said he has spent $230 of his own money for posters, fliers and banner material.

Davidson said he cut down on his expenses by using bedding donated from a hotel in his hometown for banners.

Senate candidate Michael Coatney, political science freshman, said he decided not to use the conventional method of hanging posters in classrooms and on kiosks. Instead, Coatney spent $139 at Print Well to purchase 3,000 fliers, 500 stickers and 500 business cards.

The owner of Print Well, Chuck Josephson, said his work with ASUA candidates goes back to the 1980s.

"I'd have to have candidates stand outside the building because I didn't want competing candidates to hear what other candidates were saying," Josephson said.

This year, Coatney was the only candidate who ordered his materials from Print Well, which Josephson attributed to lower campaign spending limits.

Candidates must turn in an expense form listing all their expenses throughout the campaign to the Elections Commission by tomorrow at 5 p.m., the Elections Code states.

Candidates who are on the general election ballot on March 4 and 5 must submit another expense report the day after the general elections.