Next Monday, April 8, Colorado Mesa University students will determine who comprises the Associated Student Government. Many of the senate positions are unopposed, making the votes for the executive positions the deciding factor of how the next school year will run. This is an expanded look at those positions and the candidates running for office.
The executive branch consists of seven positions: president, vice president, student trustee, fee allocation committee (FAC) chair, director of external, chief of staff and press secretary. Four of those positions are appointed by the president. The elected positions are therefore president, vice president and student trustee.
The ASG president oversees all ASG operations and serves as the primary overseer of all fee-funded boards and organizations. The president enforces the ASG constitution and bylaws and has veto power over legislation. The president also has the power to sign executive orders.
The vice president serves as speaker and presiding officer over the senate. The vice president acts as the president’s liaison regarding procedural oversight of all fee-funded boards and organizations. This individual will assume the presidential office in the event the position is vacated.
The student trustee represents CMU students to the CMU Board of Trustees. The trustee prepares a written monthly statement to the president and supplies a verbal report to the senate.
There are two presidential tickets opposing each other for the upcoming election. Current President Beau Flores is running for re-election with running mate Angel Bautista. Graduate Senator Lauren Mason and Theatre Senator Alex Wagner are challenging Flores’ bid for re-election.
Flores and Bautista are running on five principles: first generation, community, athletics, involvement and leadership. Their vision statement is, “Standing for YOU, Stand United,” according to their Facebook page.
According to CMU administration, many CMU students are both first generation and minority students. Both Flores and Bautista come from minority populations and are first generation students. Bautista has already been working with the local youth and seeks to enhance his ability to strengthen the relationship between the local schools and CMU.
Mason and Wagner said, “For many years ASG has flown under the radar acting only as a fiscal body and not providing this campus with the representation that it deserves,” on their Facebook page. According to the page, Mason and Wagner want to bring a sense of humanity to the executive positions.
There are four candidates for the student trustee position: Current Student Trustee Amara Hobbs, Senate Leader Colton Rupple, Supreme Court Justice Jasmine Tellez and Olivia VanGundy. VanGundy is the only candidate without current ASG affiliation.
Hobbs was elected last year and seeks re-election. She has experience working with the Board of Trustees and has developed professional relationships its members. Rupple has served a year in the senate as the senate leader. Tellez also has a year of experience with her current position. VanGundy is a junior mass communication student and said her goal is to give CMU students a reason to stay.
Students will have the chance to learn more about the executive candidates during the CMU TV televised debates on Wednesday.
