In the week preceding the Student Association election process, the SA did not meet for either the weekly executive or Senate conferences. Meetings will continue next week.
Campaigning for the SA elections will begin today. Candidates will be able to address the student body in an attempt to promote the SA election, as well their individual platforms. All candidates have submitted petitions containing their required signatures this past Friday.
The election will begin Monday at 8 p.m. Nov. 15, ending the following day at 8 p.m., enabling students the opportunity to engage in the democratic process within the allotted 24 hours.
The elections will decide the representatives for 15 seats on the Senate, five vice presidential seats and both executive vice president and presidential seats. Positions such as the Speaker of the Senate will be appointed once the Senate has been elected.
Students seeking to become eligible were required to obtain 50 signatures for Senate elections, 100 signatures for the executive election and 150 for presidential and executive vice presidental elections. Signatories must provide their MyPlattsburgh User ID to add their names to the petitions. Candidates must meet a GPA requirement of 2.3 to be eligible.
The next administration will take office on Jan. 1, as this corresponds to the implementation of the updated constitution. The new draft of the constitution has been finalized, including updates surrounding the details of each position.
The voting procedure will begin with an email to all students through their MyPattsburgh email account. The ballot will show candidates in a randomized order to prevent any candidate to win simply because their name is the first on the ballot. Additional information, such as the candidate’s campaign platform, along with a bio and a photograph, will be included to assure students have relevant information concerning the prospective candidates.
The presidential race will include four candidates, Daniel Hoshkepazi, Emmanuel Rodriguez, current Vice President of Academics Vrinda Sharma and the incumbent Michael Kimmer.
Kimmer said he is proud of the work done this term by the executive council and senate.
“I’m satisfied with the completion of our updated constitution that will go into effect in January,” he said.
Since its inception, there has been only one single instance of a president serving two terms. Michael Cashman was elected twice over a decade ago and now serves as the youngest elected Town Supervisor of Plattsburgh. He attended Plattsburgh State where he first received his B.S. in speech communications and then his M.S. in college and agency counseling.
“It was an honor and a privilege to serve the student body this past year. I want to take this opportunity to say good luck to everybody running for a position, and also to thank my fellow representatives for their hard work over the course of the past year,” Kimmer said. “No matter the results, I’m sure the future representatives of the student association will work as hard as they can to provide our student body with the representation they deserve.”
Email Kyle Welling at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
