ASWSU CandidatesWatch Now

Arriving confidently at a decision to support just one ticket as the future leaders of the student body was no simple task. We achieved a majority vote only after debating back and forth between two impressive tickets. For the 2012-2013 ASWSU president and vice president, The Daily Evergreen Editorial Board endorses Kyle Erdman and Derrick Skaug.

Our task came down to choosing between the candidates we were most excited about — Luis Cuevas and Lindsey Jahn — and the candidates with the most directly applicable experience — Erdman and Skaug. Due to their administrative and legislative connections, as well as their four-year records of accomplishment, we concluded that in such a crucial time period for higher education the most experienced candidates would be the most responsible choice.

Between Erdman and Skaug, they have developed relationships with members of state legislature, city council, the police department, university administration, athletics and Greek Life. We are confident these connections will allow the candidates to represent the university holistically, not just specific niche groups.

We appreciate the knowledge and passion Erdman and Skaug share regarding the ever-dwindling WSU budget. The university cuts and tuition increases are determined for two years at a time. Erdman and Skaug want to enforce a WSU presence in Olympia, and how they present WSU in Olympia could have a remaining impact two years after the fact.

Because Erdman already works in the executive office and Skaug currently serves as pro tempore of the senate, we believe they will be able to take action much sooner than the current administration did, or any of the other candidates would be able to. 

During their interview with the Editorial Board, they shared a variety of campaign goals with us and clearly indicated that they expect to be held accountable to achieving those objectives.

After following Erdman and Skaug grow as leaders through the pages of The Daily Evergreen for the last several years, we believe we know exactly what we are getting ourselves into with this ticket — and more importantly, they know exactly what they are getting themselves into. 

Though we feel Erdman and Skaug are the best fit for these ASWSU positions, we very much hope to see candidates Cuevas and Jahn take on leadership positions on their cabinet or within ASWSU. We were highly impressed with their enthusiasm and preparedness during their interview. Should Cuevas and Jahn win, we would also hope to see support from Erdman and Skaug during their transition into office as well as with their management of legislative affairs. 

On the other hand, we were quite unimpressed with the campaign of Joey Pacific and Samantha Hege. They committed early on to ‘making waves’ in ASWSU, but struggled to articulate any reason for initiating conflict or moving in a new direction. They also seemed ambivalent toward the state of higher education funding, and we felt concern for their ability to work with other student leaders effectively. While we approve of change when it is necessary, Pacific and Hege seemed more interested in making waves just for the sake of it.

Overall we feel Skaug and Erdman are best equipped to secure a sustainable, positive future for our university.

ASWSU elections will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and continue through 8 p.m. Wednesday. The winning ticket will be announced Wednesday evening.