As a part of the process of becoming an official candidate
running for undergraduate student government, applicants were
invited to sign a voluntary spending cap pledge ““ but only a
few chose to do so during the candidate orientation meeting
Wednesday.
The candidates running under the Students First! slate have
collectively chosen to participate in the voluntary spending cap,
along with five independent candidates. But candidates are not
required to abide by the recommended spending caps.
The cap for president is $600 and the cap for other officers is
$400.
The spending cap is the best way to ensure the campaign is run
fairly, said Allende Palma/Saracho, current internal vice president
and presidential candidate for Students First!.
“Nobody should have an unfair advantage,”
Palma/Saracho said, adding that he did not think his campaign was
affected by other candidates’ decisions not to sign on the
spending cap.
Palma/Saracho said Students First! candidates plan to work
together to ensure all positions receive adequate funding without
spending more than the election code specifies for each
position.
“Students First! operates as a collective. We try to
divide money in an equal way,” Palma/Saracho said, adding
that candidates would pool their money and use collective resources
like sign boards and fliers.
Candidates running under the Equal Access Coalition did not
choose to sign on to the spending cap because they believed it was
unrealistic.
Josh Lawson, general representative and presidential hopeful
under the coalition, said by not signing on to the spending cap his
slate has the freedom to report accurately.
Reflecting on his campaign last year, Lawson said he passed out
an average of 5,000 fliers each day.
Considering those numbers, Lawson said he is interested in
seeing how Students First! will stay within the caps.
Brian Neesby, a candidate for general representative under the
Equal Access Coalition, said he may question the accuracy of the
numbers of Students First! if he sees extensive campaigning.
“If you want to be honest, we couldn’t spend under
the limit as a slate,” Neesby said, adding that his slate
plans to have individual as well as group fliers.
In the past, the amount Students First! candidates have spent on
their campaign has never been close to the spending limit,
Palma/Saracho said.
Each candidate is financially responsible for any materials
advocating his or her campaign, said Roy Samaan, chairman of the
elections board.
For example, if several candidates publish a flier at total cost
of $10, that whole amount will be deducted from each of their
expense accounts, and each candidate must submit an expense report
to the elections board.
For this reason, Samaan said he did not believe slates were at a
significant financial advantage.
Doug Ludlow, president of Bruin Democrats and an independent
presidential candidate, refrained from signing on to the spending
cap because he believes candidates running under a slate have an
advantage.
He explained that if he chose to abide by the spending cap, he
would be “drowned in a sea of slate fliers” since
candidates under a slate can pool their monetary resources
together.
Ludlow said that, other than his own personal contribution to
the campaign, he is depending on fund-raising and the support of
average students for his funding.
Arash Mozayan Isfahani, another independent presidential
candidate, said he signed on to the spending cap because he
believes the cap is the best way to have a level playing field to
get ideas across.
“It is not about the amount of money. “¦ It’s
about the ideas a candidate had,” he added.
With reports from Shaudee Navid, Bruin contributor.