Of the 25 candidates running in the upcoming undergraduate student government elections, only five have chosen to sign a voluntary spending cap which would limit the money candidates can use to fund their campaigns.
Under the voluntary spending cap, presidential candidates would limit their campaign spending to $600, and candidates running for all other offices would limit their spending to $400. Candidates would have the option of budgeting up to $150 for signboards.
Slate candidates from both Bruins United and Students First! opted not to sign the spending-cap agreement. The five candidates who did agree to limited budgets are all running as independents.
In recent years, neither Bruins United nor Students First! has signed the cap.
Though candidates typically spend a few hundred dollars on their campaigns, some candidates have invested thousands of dollars in previous elections.
David Valk, a second-year political science and sociology student and independent presidential candidate, said he agreed to the spending limit because he believes campaign costs have become excessive.
“By not signing the voluntary spending limit, all other candidates have proven that this is a system that requires a lot of money. … Not every student has $15,000 to run a campaign,” he said.
But Gregory Cendana, the current Undergraduate Students Association Council internal vice president, said choosing not to sign the agreement for his presidential campaign is in line with his slate’s platform.
“Students First! abides by the principle to buy products that are not made in sweatshops and are environmentally friendly, therefore our campaign expenses exceed the voluntary spending limit,” he said.
But some candidates questioned whether expensive campaign materials are necessary to win the election.
Jose Manaiza, a fourth-year mathematics and economics student and independent presidential candidate, said he believes the budget permitted by the spending cap should provide sufficient funding for his campaign.
“The support of the campus is more than enough for me to run and represent the desires and needs of UCLA students ““ I do not need additional funding,” he said.
Under the USAC Elections Code guidelines, those who have accepted the spending cap will have their total expenses published as an advertisement in the Daily Bruin during the election. Once published, the limited budgets will become a binding contract. Any candidates in violation of their self-imposed funding restrictions can be sanctioned or disqualified, said Sandybeth Carrillo, current Elections Board chairwoman and a former Daily Bruin reporter.
But Carrillo said the sanctions, to be determined by the board on a case-by-case basis, will be proportional to the infraction.
“It depends on how much they spend, if it was $1 or $100,000. That would really make the difference,” she said.
Gabe Rose, a third-year political science and communication studies student and the Bruins United presidential candidate, said he believes the spending limit, which he did not sign, would only complicate his presidential campaign. With important issues at stake, Rose said communicating effectively will be important and spending limits may hinder his ability to do so.
“The voluntary spending limit constitutes complicated rules for slates, and we in Bruins United feel that if we restrict the amount of money we can spend, it may limit our ability to communicate effectively to the student body,” he said.
But Colin Iberti, a third-year biochemistry student and independent candidate for Campus Events commissioner, said he believes he and other independents will be able to campaign effectively even with campaign budgets in place.
“It’s important to remain focused on our goals for next year (and) not spend too much money to make it prohibitive for other people to run,” he said.
With reports from Ben Thaler, Bruin contributor.