Candidates for Student Association president and comptroller are uncontested for the 2010 elections.

Neal Casey, the current chair of SA’s Student Life Committee, will run for SA president, and Jeff Rickert will run for re-election as SA comptroller. The deadline for students to declare their candidacy for either position was Oct. 15.

‘It’s a bit of a relief,’ Casey said. ‘We’re just looking forward to it, but we still need students to come out and vote.’

Casey said he expected more opponents for SA president. Although he is uncontested, he said he does not intend to change his campaigning strategy to reach out to student organizations and convince them he is the best candidate for the position.

‘We’re going to continue as if we had competition,’ he said.

His campaign goals are to include students in key decisions on campus and possibly reform SA’s budget process.

Casey joined SA as a representative of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in January 2009. In February 2009, he became chief of staff under former SA President Larry Seivert. He has served as the chair of SA’s Student Life Committee throughout the 54th session and became a member of the Finance Board in spring 2010. He also serves as a student representative to the Board of Trustees.

Rickert, current SA comptroller, will run for a second term as comptroller during the November 2010 SA elections. He plans on improving the budget process for student organizations.

His three goals to improve the budget process are to allow funding to roll over from the spring to fall semesters to help student groups; revise SA codes so student organizations can receive funding for travel; and create a committee of students to reform the budget process as a whole.

Rickert plans to visit student organizations and talk to as many students as he can throughout his campaign, he said.

In January 2009, Rickert became a member of the Finance Board, and he was elected as SA comptroller in November 2009. He will also focus on his experience while campaigning.

‘I think I’m set up to do this job more than anyone else due to my past year,’ he said.

Students can vote for SA president and comptroller via MySlice on Nov. 8 to Nov. 11. Ten percent of the student body must vote for the elections to be valid.

lgleveil@syr.edu

 

Published on October 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Laurence: lgleveil@syr.edu | @lgleveille