Despite a low turnout of 17 candidates running for the 2007 Associated Students Inc. election and the few of political slates compared to previous years, many ASI candidates kicked off their campaigns late Sunday night.

Among the five positions for executives and the nine for directors, there are only three positions with more than one candidate running.

Robert Linch Jr., Santo Mirza, Ryan O’Keeffe and Christina Romero are all candidates for ASI president.

While there are four candidates for ASI president, one executive position and one director position have only two people eligible for next year.

Joseph Ross and Tim Snyder are running for vice president of finance, while Valerie Boogaard and Walter Wallace hope to serve as vice president of University Affairs.

While the majority of current ASI members did not file for candidacy for next year, some did.

Executive Vice President Curtis Grima, Director of Arts and Letters Christina Romero, California State Student Association Representative Miguel Cervantes, Assistant to the Executive Vice President Walter Wallace and Customer Service Representative for the Government Office Felix Barba all have intentions of returning to ASI next year as elected members.

“Some people may be burnt out from last year’s campaign and this years board could be burnt out from all the long hours and hard work that they have contributed to the students’ best interest,” Grima said.

This year, there is only one slate as of Monday – Vision. A slate is a group of candidates who partner up and run under the same principles.

Current ASI President Jesus Andrade said one slate is normal.”One year we’ll have as many as four slates, while other years we’ll just have one,” he said.

Out of the 17 total candidates, 11 candidates make up the Vision slate.

Even though there is only one slate for this year’s campaign, Romero said she expects there to be competition.

“Regardless of whether a candidate is running with a team or not, I never underestimate their capabilities of being strong in numbers,” she said.

If elected as president, junior English major Romero said she will focus on two goals.

“My first goal would be to train the board extensively on their roles and duties to the students of their colleges. I really want to see my board members active in our campus community and be visible,” said Romero.

Her second goal is the media department in which she would like to see “up and running” by the time she leaves office.

Another presidential candidate, junior government international relations major Robert Linch Jr, said he feels students’ voices have been “muffled.”

“My goal is to bring back their voices, and what they want through a sense of unity and community,” said Linch.

He feels he is more qualified for president than the other candidates because he has a lot of leadership experience and he is highly knowledgeable of how ASI operates.

“My job is to make choices in the interest of students, not to cater to the administration,” he said.

Santo Mirza and Ryan O’Keeffe, the other presidential candidates, were not available to comment on their candidacy.

Although there are four presidential candidates this year, there are only two for vice president of finance.

Senior business major and candidate Joseph Ross said one of his focuses is programs on campus.

“I am looking to obtain a lot more grants for sufficient funding for the programs,” said Ross.

He said part of his plan is to listen to students, and to determine what they see is a problem, a plan he feels will reach out to students more.

Ross said he would best fit the position of vice president of finance, because he has hands-on experience with being involved with budget committees. He said he can do the best job, because of the knowledge he invests.

Junior business accounting major Tim Snyder said he aims to satisfy the needs of students.

“If elected, I will come in a posture of learning, ready and willing to do what it takes to accomplish the change that students are looking for,” said Snyder.

He also said he would bring students closer together.

“If appointed to vice president of finance and a member of the board of directors, I hope to bring a strong voice, and to push for a stronger unity among students,” Snyder said.

Running against Walter Wallace for vice president of University Affairs, junior business major Valerie Boogaard said she would be beneficial to both students and ASI if elected.

“I think ASI would benefit not only because I’m a transfer student, I have knowledge going to two different schools, and I have managerial experience, but because I will bring a lot of real-life experiences to the table for students,” Boogaard said.

She also said she will make sure student voices are heard, and that students feel involved on campus.

Boogaard said she would serve ASI well, because she has the drive and motivation to ensure goals are fulfilled.

Opponent and senior digital communications major, Wallace said one of his intentions is to inform students about how ASI operates.

“I want to let (students) know what ASI does by making positive changes to the campus,” he said.

He also said he has a lot of ideas that he would like to implement once he is elected, though these ideas were not yet specified.

As the only candidate for executive vice president, junior government major Miguel Cervantes said his first goal would be to increase awareness of ASI, as well as issues directly affecting the campus community.

“Student awareness is very important when it comes to taking action and shaping our state representatives decisions,” Cervantes said.

Vice president of Academic Affairs is another executive position in which only one candidate is running, senior government journalism major Curtis Grima.

Grima said he would like to revamp the job description of the vice president of Academic Affairs, as it will be easier for students to judge the member’s performance better.

“It needs to be really clear with specific roles and responsibilities,” Grima said.

Besides increasing sustainability on campus and promoting alternative transportation, he said he wants to help the transition of new board members by having an online legislation database.

“It will help incoming board members to get an idea of what commitments have already been made by the past ASI board and which need to fall through,” Grima said.

Due to the low number of students running for office, Executive Director Pat Worley said this may be the cause of there only being one prominent slate this year.

With 17 candidates and 14 available positions, it seems impossible to have more than one slate.

There are candidates for the majority of the positions, but none for director of education, and director of undeclared students.

Andrade said the election will continue, whether or not all the positions are filled. He also said the president has the authority to appoint people to fill vacant positions.

The election is set for 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24 and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25.

Jacqueline Tualla can be reached at [email protected]