Parties Taking Different Tacks in Upcoming Elections

If CalSERVE's crushing victory over political juggernaut Student Action taught the party anything last year, it was that ASUC elections is about survival of the fittest: political parties must adapt or die.

In last week's slating, progressive CalSERVE returned to its roots and decided to use its current lock on the ASUC to boost a black woman into the presidency.

But moderate Student Action, in a provocative move to broaden its base, drew half of its executive candidates from independent senators who once were among its toughest critics.

After losing its four executive seats to CalSERVE following a seven-year reign in the ASUC, it became clear that Student Action could no longer rely on its historical base of Greek members and athletes.

Voters last year were polarized between progressive leaders who promised reform and another generation of Student Action candidates who ran just months after the ASUC plunged into more than a hundred thousand dollars in debt to the university under the party's leadership.

But this year, rather than moving its senators up the ranks, Student Action is rethinking its bases and identity to appeal to more students.

The party reached out and pulled independent Senator Misha Leybovich into the presidential seat and reeled in Fresno Party Senator Rocky Gade, who won a senate seat with an anti-Student Action campaign.

Leybovich, who comes from the small APPLE-Engineering party, will rake in votes from the engineers, a large but relatively untapped voting pool. Gade, the most progressive of the four, could bring in voters from the fringe of CalSERVE's base.

Despite new bases under Student Action's wing, one thing is clear this election: It will be an uphill battle for both parties.

Student Action will be without its army of freshman interns to scoop up votes in the residence halls and will have to contend with newcomer Jake Kloberdanz, a presidential candidate who could eat into its Greek and athletic bases.

CalSERVE will be without last year's secret weapon: ASUC President Kris Cuaresma-Primm, a Greek athlete, who spread the party's appeal beyond its traditional base of underrepresented minorities and knocked out his Student Action opponent with a whopping 1,300-vote margin.

CalSERVE will have to prove that last year's win was not an anomaly and that they have lasting appeal to all students to win.

The party has a strong track record for advocating politically symbolic measures and to no surprise, this year's CalSERVE executives used the student government to promote a progressive agenda.

But last fall's decision to spend $35,000 on a campaign against Proposition 54, which would have banned collecting racial data, may have alienated voters.

The party also is taking a gamble by backing an ASUC outsider, Renita Chaney, in a move to diversify the presidency-a woman has not won the seat in six years. Her inexperience with ASUC politics may not match up with Leybovich, who has spent two years in the senate courting dozens of student groups by writing bills.

CalSERVE's victory last year was based on branching out and pulling in new bases. But Student Action has weathered its first year out of power and returned with lessons learned from last year.

But the real test will come next month, when voters decide if they can buy Student Action's new look or CalSERVE's old one.

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