CalSERVE Looks Beyond Senators For Office

In a move that stunned student government insiders, CalSERVE, the ASUC's dominant political party, slated none of its senators for executive office this year.

The party instead reached beyond its core of senators and chose two chiefs of staff, Mike Sheen and Karina Delgado; the executive director of Cal Lobby Corp, Liz Hall; and the executive director of the Black Recruitment and Retention Center, Renita Chaney, to run for four of the five top offices. Neither party has offered a candidate for the fifth position, student advocate.

"We want to start off with a clean slate-student leaders who are qualified and will not be reproducing the problems of the ASUC Senate," said Taina Gomez, executive vice president and CalSERVE co-signatory.

All four of the senators who were in consideration withdrew their names, Gomez said.

CalSERVE Senator Alicia Criado, a contender for one of the executive offices, said she could not financially afford to spend another year in school. The other three senators could not be reached for comment.

Parties typically draw executive candidates from their senators, who are used to the campaign trail and have spent a year in office. Student Action, CalSERVE's rival party, has three senators in its slate, although two are from outside the party.

Although they are not campaign-tested, two of the CalSERVE candidates have months of experience as chiefs of staff for two executive offices and external affairs candidate Hall leads the lobbying arm of the ASUC.

CalSERVE's decision comes after an internal struggle which lasted for months. Party members could not agree upon a slate, and in a last-minute effort, they opened up the process to their progressive base in two "community meetings."

One hundred and fifty members from 50 different groups nominated potential candidates and voted on them in Thursday night's meeting.

They finalized the slate on the last day to file for candidacy after 15 hours of debate.

Party outsiders were told to leave the meeting.

"It was an amazingly beautiful transparent, accountable process," said Jessica Quindel, Graduate Assembly president.

They have yet to establish platforms for each of the candidates. Campaign issues will be decided next week.

The CalSERVE student groups chose the first female presidential candidate to run with a major party in years.

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