The Associated Students of Madison may not be the most exciting topic on campus. Bucky Badger's shapely body is probably more inspiring. But nonetheless, ASM is an integral part of our daily lives as students. The student government is charged with allocating $38 million in student segregated fees and giving students a voice in administration decisions through shared governance, and it is important that the right students are put in charge of that money.
Since the spring elections refreshed ASM Student Council, the body is set to elect internal leadership Sunday, including its Chair and Vice Chair. Although any Council member can be nominated from the floor on Sunday, the candidates who have already announced will most likely be the only nominees.
The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board sat down with both candidates for Chair, Jonah Zinn and Brandon Williams; and both Vice Chair candidates, Adam Johnson and Jolie Lizotte. All four gave very different and intriguing interviews, though one candidate in each race stood out. As such, we have chosen to endorse Williams and Johnson.
Williams impressed us with his startlingly efficient, no-nonsense attitude. He had effective arguments for every question we threw at him (granted, some sounded a bit too much like talking points). Williams had specific plans for reaching out to more students, including video blogs and what he deemed a ""trickle-down"" plan to contact students through student organizations. Whatever negative connotations the phrase ""trickle-down"" has, such ideas are both pragmatic and necessary. We appreciate his experience as Chair of Student Services Finance Committee, running a vital committee in a non-partisan fashion, which hopefully he will bring to the Council.
Johnson seemed the most committed and goal-oriented of all four interviewees, as shown by his impressive work as ASM Legislative Affairs Committee Chair. He discussed specific plans for continuing outreach, an important part of his job as the Vice Chair also serves as chair of the External Affairs Committee. He has plans to forge a Big Ten coalition that coordinates media and lobbying campaigns, yet he realistically acknowledges this project is far off. He also has extensive plans for communicating with students through social media. But it is Johnson's experience fighting for students in the city, state and federal governments that sets him apart.
As for the other candidates, Zinn and Lizotte would also be competent leaders. However, we have doubts about their ability to gain support from representatives not affiliated with the MPOWER slate to which they both belong. Zinn emphasized MPOWER was not meant to function as a voting bloc, but Lizotte (as well as common sense) indicates that it will. Their unwillingness to even talk about the tenure of current Chair Tyler Junger beyond admitting he is a snappy dresser does not inspire confidence that they will be able to mend divides on ASM.
As the 33 council members sit in the Student Activities Center on Sunday, debating the merits of each candidate, we hope they realize the importance of experience and the ability to forge unity among members. Such characteristics are necessary to run an effective student government. In our minds, Brandon Williams and Adam Johnson are the pair who best display those essential qualities.
