Student Association elections will take place March 25-27. Here is a breakdown of the candidates for treasurer.
The treasurer is the chief controller of the Student Association's multi-million dollar budget. He or she is in the president's cabinet, is chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee and is a voting member of the Emergency Powers Council. The treasurer is responsible for the disbursement of the SA budget and revenue. The treasurer must also keep a strict inventory, as well as communicate with treasurers of all SA-funded groups to inform them of any changes.
Name: Juan Jimenez
Year: Junior
Major: Business with a concentration in international business and financial analysis; Mandarin Chinese minor
Party: Impact
Current SA position: Bookkeeper in SA's Finance Department
Juan Jimenez was able to eliminate the $20,000 deficit his fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE). He said his experience as treasurer and vice president of TKE and his experience this year as an SA bookkeeper have prepared him for the position of SA treasurer.
"I want to tailor to the clubs and to the students to better suit their needs," Jimenez said. "What our party is trying to do, in general, is to reach the whole student body and have as much involvement with SA as possible so that their funds are going to them and not just to a sector of UB."
In addition to stressing the importance of the tier system his party plans to implement, Jimenez wants to speed up the time it takes to approve purchase orders. It currently takes about three to five business days for the full process.
He said transparency is vital to his party.
"We want to show that we're not hiding a single thing," Jimenez said. "We're here to work for the students."
He wants to add more stores and businesses to SA's preferred vendors list. He also wants to implement a policy that will allow clubs to submit receipts electronically to speed up the reimbursement process. Clubs would still need to eventually submit a physical copy.
He said he plans to hold more consistent office hours, something he said current SA Treasurer Siddhant Chhabria fails to uphold.
Name: Ali Ahmed
Year: Junior
Major: History
Party: Independent/Students Party
Current SA position: SA Senator
Ali Ahmed is the only candidate in the SA election running independently.
The current senator and former assemblyman was originally on a ticket as the presidential candidate, but the vice president and treasurer dropped out.
"I was always here for SA and I was never in it for myself," Ahmed said. "Even in the end when I am by myself, I want to make a difference any way I can."
If elected, Ahmed plans to create objective standards of how to deal with club budgets. He said currently, SA has too much discretion without enough precedence.
He said most people run more for themselves than the organization. He said he is doing the opposite.
"That's actually where I feel most of the problems from SA stem from: people not caring or understanding the value of their position," Ahmed said. "They'll just go and do rash things; they don't see themselves as the representative of the entire student body."
He has experience as the Senate chair over the 2013 summer. He said he sat down with former President Nick Johns and former Vice President Lyle Selsky and went through the entire budget, even though his job did not require him to do so.
Ahmed believes his experience as a Senator is relevant to the treasurer position. He sometimes breaks down a club's proposal for money or a grant and makes suggestions to the Senate that almost always carry through, according to Ahmed. He said his understanding of the system would benefit SA.
Name: Sade Cadle
Year: Junior
Major: Business with concentration in finance and international business
Party: Value
Current SA position: Treasurer of Black Student Union (BSU)
Sade Cadle handles the finances for BSU, the club with the largest budget in SA.
She thinks her club experience and her experience as treasurer of the Residential Hall Council at the University of Bridgeport and an internship as a bookkeeper for the Brooklyn Navy Yard for two summers qualify her as a viable treasurer candidate.
She said each of her positions has helped her develop better time management and organizational skills.
BSU has an annual budget of $35,000 and this year had an additional $14,000 rolled over from last year.
The main component of her platform is the implementation of mobile payment options for clubs. She said if students were able to purchase items and donate money using credit cards or Campus Cash, the process would become much simpler.
She also wants to implement gas cards for clubs so that students wont have to use their own money and wait for the one- or two-week time frame to be reimbursed.
Cadle said if elected, she would send The Spectrum a monthly budget report outlining all of SA's budgetary spending. She also plans to create a system in which clubs can find out their exact financial standing in real time.
"We would like to better the communication between SA and the student body, making sure that students have the most value out of their Mandatory Student Activity Fee and ensuring that funds are invested in programs that students want," Cadle said.
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