The Cooperative Movement Party announced Monday that Evan Bell is to be its sole senatorial candidate for the upcoming ASUC elections.
As the party’s only candidate, Bell, a sophomore studying economics and a member of the Casa Zimbabwe cooperative, will directly represent the student cooperative community. The party has historically represented the community on campus to spread awareness of the cooperatives. Since its inception in 2008, the party has had one senator elected to the ASUC each year. The cooperatives on campus have nearly 1,300 people, Bell added.
“(Bell) has proven herself to be exceptionally capable of doing the job of senator,” said Party Chair Elliot Goldstein. “She is passionate, articulate and open-minded … (she) will be an effective representative to the co-op community.”
Bell’s platform includes increasing funding for affordable student housing, advocating for transparency in the Lower Sproul redevelopment and making sure the ASUC is fiscally responsible. She was officially confirmed by the Berkeley Student Cooperative Board of Directors last Thursday.
“I’m really excited, and I’m ready to get work done,” Bell said.
Bell said she intends to integrate the Cooperative Movement Party’s values into the ASUC while “making sure the ASUC (is) as effective of a body as possible for the collective needs of students.”
Though not explicitly on her platform, Bell also prioritizes promoting diversity. As a member of the Black Student Union, Bell said she plans to be a vocal advocate for the black community.
She began her career as an intern for ASUC Senator Kevin Williams her freshman year and co-authored a bill commemorating Troy Davis. Bell believes the bill “empowered” her and helped her discover a passion for advocacy.
She also worked with Councilmember Kriss Worthington last summer and is currently ASUC Senator Jorge Pacheco’s chief of staff.
Past Cooperative Movement Party senators have been involved in creating the ASUC Green Certification Program, the Cooperative Opportunity Fund, the Berkeley Student Food Collective and the UC Berkeley Take Back the Tap Initiative.
The Cooperative Movement Party has also worked to make the ASUC less partisan by working as an intermediary between the campus’s two main parties, according to Bell.
The party, however, will likely be under the spotlight in the following weeks as the Berkeley Student Cooperative’s controversial recent push to cut employee benefits has been scrutinized. Bell declined to comment on this issue.
Overall, Bell emphasized her focus on advocacy and making sure resources are being used to improve student life.
“I want to make sure progress for student body is put first,” Bell said. “I hope partisanship doesn’t get in the way … I want to keep the ASUC moving forward.”
Contact Alison Fu at [email protected].