This fall's candidates for SA Senate elections -- held today and Thursday in the Student Union -- reflect a sweeping range of experience and ideas.
Of the 30 candidates, 26 have joined one of four parties: the Focus Party, the UB Voice Party, the Unity Party and the UB Chillin' Party. Though students may vote for six candidates regardless of party affiliation, each party has developed a distinct agenda, according to the candidates.
Four students, including sophomore philosophy major Mark Zambito, the only incumbent running, are unaffiliated with a party.
Members of the Focus Party and Unity Party also said they both wish to move beyond the controversy that erupted Sunday when Duncan Stanley, a member of the Unity Party, filed a complaint with the Student-Wide Judiciary.
Stanley alleged that if four Focus Party members -- Dennis Febo, Khristin Pietraszewski, Cheryl Rozario, and May Wong -- ran for SA Senate, they would violate the separation of powers clause in the SA Constitution because they also serve as delegates to the State University of New York Student Assembly.
The SWJ ruled against Stanley on Monday. He withdrew from the election yesterday.
An "experienced" ticket
Members of the Focus Party stressed both their expertise in SA and the diversity of their experiences on campus.
Daniel A. Smith, a senior management major, said that he was inspired to run in April when, as an employee of Sub-Board I, he watched the debate over SA pulling out of the organization.
"The more I saw the drama of Sub-Board evolve, I thought 'Let me get involved, let me have an active role,'" he said.
Pietraszewski said her work with the statewide assembly has expanded her perspective, but a Senate seat would allow her closer contact with UB.
"I want to be a part of something close to the students," Pietraszewski said.
Smith said his party believes in a reward-based system for SA clubs.
"Clubs that promote themselves should be rewarded for that," said Smith, who added that clubs would be rewarded with money and the standards for judging rewards would be different for each club.
Febo said one of the strengths of the Focus Party is that each member comes from a different background.
"It is the only diverse ticket," Febo said.
"People, not politicians"
The UB Voice Party is bound together by a common desire to represent the average UB student, members said Monday. UB Voice leaders stressed that their party reflects the diversity of the UB community.
"We're not politicians, we're people," said Emily Johnston, a member of the lacrosse team and a junior psychology major .
UB Voice candidates singled out "frivolous spending" as the major problem within SA that they would address in the Senate.
Candidates said they would cut about $15,000 in SA staff development funds he said are currently used to send the SA's staff to Cedar Point on the last weekend of the summer.
Voter apathy is the greatest obstacle the group will have to overcome, said Justine Hoechst, a sophomore undecided major and UB Voice candidate.
Hoechst was concerned that with only two full days of campaigning -- students were allowed to begin campaigning on Friday -- many students will not be motivated to vote.
"When you only have two school days of campaigning, how can you expect students to weigh different issues and figure out who to vote for?" Batdorf said. "It's a real shame."
A call for open government
Despite Stanley's resignation, members of the Unity Party have pressed ahead, advocating a platform that calls for the Senate to raise its accountability with the clubs.
Ashley Steinkirchner, a sophomore undecided major who took over for Stanley as the Unity Party's campaign manager, said the party came together over the issue of "vague" accounting within SA.
"I've heard people complain day in and day out," she said. "I'd just got to the point where a few friends and I looked into the information."
Like members of the UB Voice Party, Steinkirchner also accused the SA of wasteful spending. She questioned the need to spend money on Halloween decorations for the Student Union.
"It's good to be in the spirit and get everyone excited about the holiday," she said. "But to spend thousands of our tuition dollars on paint seems a little ridiculous at this point."
Though Steinkirchner said she was disappointed that the SWJ ruled against Stanley, she said she was more dismayed at how the issue polarized the candidates.
Other voices
A handful of independent candidates compliment those who have affiliated with parties. Three candidates have declared as independents.
Phillip Fort, a candidate for SA president last year, has declared his candidacy as the sole member of the UB Chillin' Party. Fort led a UB Chillin' ticket that was defeated by the Momentum Party in April.
Neither Fort nor Catherine McPherson, independent candidate, could be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
Also among the independents is Mark Zambito, a sophomore philosophy major, who is the only incumbent running.
Unlike most of the candidates, Zambito said he approved of the Senate's current budget policy. He did not recommend any large-scale changes.
"I'm in favor of maintaining the status quo, with the exception of things we should address on a case-by-case basis," Zambito said.
Patrick K. Moore, a junior mechanical engineering major, was inspired to run by his experience in Schussmeisters and the Society of Automotive Engineers and his concern for how student fees are spent.
"(SA) really needs to make sure the money is going where students want it to go," he said. "I will represent students who care about where their money is going."
Both candidates have different reasons for running as independents.
Zambito said he declared as an independent because none of his colleagues from last year are running again.
"Everyone I know was connected to higher office, a staff member or someone who decided not to run again," he said.
Moore said he did not join a party because he missed the meeting last Friday at which the candidates officially organized parties.
Continued Controversy
Just as the controversy from Stanley's SWJ complaint began to settle, members of the Focus Party plan to lodge a complaint of their own against the UB Voice Party for false statements on campaign flyers placed in club mailboxes Tuesday. The flyers made several claims about extravagant SA spending, which Focus members say are untrue.
"There are untruths and lies in that letter," said Rani Dweik, who previously had been running with the UB Voice Party, but said at midnight Tuesday that he wished to renounce his affiliations with the party and run independently.
Neither Scott Schmidt nor Robert Batdorf of the UB Voice Party had heard about Dweik's withdawl as of midnight Tuesday.
"I don't believe there was anything written anti-SA (in the flyer), but I don't see why if Focus isn't an SA-affiliated party, why would they have a problem with anything being said against SA?" said Batdorf.
"Our entire party decided to run for student Senate to be a voice for a student body," said Schmidt. "He jumped ship for his own personal gain. I now see how dirty politics can be."
The Focus Party said it plans to file a complaint with the Elections and Credentials Committee.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
