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| ASPSU Politicians Turned Real |
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Now that we are done accusing ASPSU for being irrelevant, the time has come to point out why you should still vote in the upcoming student election. First, Ron Lee has expressed running interest in running for president and should be stopped at all costs. Second, and more important to the argument at hand, serving in student government opens the door for service in real-world politics. Several former high ranking ASPSU officials, including presidents and vice presidents, have gone on to serve in some capacity in political and public service as a direct result of their time in student government. Voting in student government elections gives you the ability to endorse or try to block current students from serving in politics later in life. Winning one election invariably opens the door to future political runs. Here are a few examples of past and present ASPSU officials and their future possibilities: Rudy Soto The former president is seeking the city council seat held by Dan Saltzman. Soto is currently a Senior at Portland State University. Soto's tenure as student body president was mired in controversy, as many questioned just what the hell it was he did with his time and resources. The biggest policy area that Soto tried to exercise influence over was at the state-wide level by trying to force the Oregon Student Association into giving PSU more influence in the agenda and policy setting process that the OSA engaged in. Soto's logic was that because the larger schools (*cough PSU cough*) gave more money to the OSA that they deserved a bigger say. This was in direct conflict with the governing philosophy of the OSA, which was based on proportional representation based on student population at the member universities. This would likely have silenced the voices of smaller schools, who threatened to leave the OSA if the policy was implemented. Now Soto is seeking to exercise the same leadership on the Portland City Council that he provided at PSU. Brad Vehafric The current chair of the Judicial Board, Brad Vehafric served in the Soto Administration as Vice-President. Currently, the J-Board is overseeing the myriad of impeachment charges that have been filed by and against the always entertaining Ron Lee. Vehafric has spent quite a bit of time working with labor unions, which will make his political resume quite extensive should he consider running for public office in the future (we are not suggesting that this was his reason for working with unions). Hannah Fisher Hannah Fisher was elected on a platform of idealism. Her administration's primary focus was in the area of reforming Student Activities Leadership Program (SALP), which governs student groups. The initial proposal of the Fisher Administration was controversial due to the call to zero-fund SALP. However, the proposal changed, resulting in the SALP Advisory Board (the governing body for SALP) being reformed in a number of ways that have resulted in the body taking student complaints in a better manner. Fisher is the Outreach Coordinator the for Disabilities Advocacy Cultural Association at PSU, where she works in coordination with DACA (Disability Advocacy & Cultural Association) in addressing student concerns. Her resume includes former television show host, award winning public speaker, student advocate, and of course, ASPSU president. Kyle Cady As Hannah Fisher's VP, Cady worked with the Senate as they focused on increasing the distance between the Senate and the Executive branch. Cady and other administration officials felt that the two branches of government existed in too close proximity and may prove ineffective as checks against one another in times of crisis. Before being elected as Fisher's running-mate, Cady served as a vote organizer for the Oregon Student Association, as well as the Director of Legislative Affairs at Portland Community College (Rock Creek). At PCC Cady's responsibilities included serving as the equivalent of co-president, organizing and leading lobbying efforts in Salem and Washington, DC. His most recent political efforts included volunteer work for the Yes on 66/67 ballot measure efforts. Jonathan Sanford Sanford is the current president of ASPSU, having been elected last year under the banner of “a thousand cups of coffee and tea” to get to know students better. Sanford’s administration had run under a platform of connecting students to their government, and otherwise increasing communication and engagement, a task they are continuing to work towards. In recent weeks, increasing public attention has been called to ASPSU’s handling of the proposed corporate restructuring of PSU, an area where Sanford states he is “looking forward to working with Wim Wievel and the administration” to insure that students’ voices are represented. Sanford was formerly an officer in the Student Veterans’ Association and says his initial interest in politics was to help increase support veterans and students, because he believed it would be the best way to make a difference. Despite a history of working for Congressmembers and his work at ASPSU, Sanford says he has no plans to continue in the political field after college. Ed Hallman Hallman has only been vice president for a couple of weeks, following the resignation of former VP Azadeh Chitsaz. Having come in somewhat late to the game, Hallman’s primary focus now is setting up the infrastructure for better communication between students and ASPSU, including a plan to take ASPSU on the road with what he describes as a “mobile living room” to work towards better addressing students’ concerns. Hallman formerly served as ASPSU’s administrative director, as well as a senator. He hopes to later work in naturopathy. As far as continuing his later work as politician and activist, Hallman says he doesn’t yet know whether he wants to “save the world or savor it,” and has no immediate plans after graduation.  |
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