UC Berkeley junior Milton Zerman announced his candidacy Friday for the 2019 ASUC elections, running under the newly established party Students First.

Zerman, a transfer student from Los Angeles and the founder of Students First, is running on platforms to encourage freedom of speech and religion, public safety and the responsible use of ASUC funds.

“I believe the mainstream ASUC parties are totally out of touch with the issues that matter most to Cal students,” Zerman said in an email regarding why he founded Students First.

He currently serves as the diversity and inclusion chair for the Delta Chi fraternity and is a member of Berkeley College Republicans, Tikvah: Students for Israel and the Interfaith Action Initiative.

One of Zerman’s main platforms advocates for the implementation of better safety measures, especially in high-risk places such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, Eshleman Hall and Clark Kerr. These safety measures aim to keep students safe in those areas, especially late at night.

“There have been at least three robberies this last semester at Clark Kerr, including one at gunpoint,” Zerman said. “I think that is unacceptable.”

Though Zerman’s People’s Park initiative advocates for building student housing where the park currently is, he said the homeless population should be treated with “compassion,” adding that he would “guide them to jobs and public housing or a local homeless shelter.”

Regarding his financial goals, Zerman said he would aim to ensure that student funds are used as efficiently as possible. He added that he would like to cut back on spending to reduce student tuition and fees.

Zerman’s campaign also includes a sustainability plan to reduce waste from the campus Amazon center, which he said is a “common sense, easy, effective platform with huge impact.”

Voting for the ASUC elections will be held April 8, 9 and 10.