By Esther Chong
An Associated Students special election for a new AS Vice President for Business and Operations opened Monday and will last until Wednesday, Feb. 27.
According to the AS Elections website, nine candidates are campaigning for the position. A 92 percent recall vote from students ended former AS VP Genaro Meza-Roa’s term on Feb. 4, according to a previous Western Front article.
The candidates running are Michael Prostka, Erin Smith, Eric Baril, Brandon Lane, Nate Jo, Skyla Sorensen, Adam Bullard, Kyle McCaffery and Elizabeth Anne Mailo Paulson.
Additional candidate information regarding statements and qualifications can be found on a Western Involvement Network website here.
According to AS VP for Student Life Anne Lee, the special election includes a vote on a new AS Constitution. This proposed constitution would go into effect immediately after the special election, Lee said.
The constitution would change how the AS Board of Directors would operate structurally. These amendments include shared powers between the AS Executive Board and the AS Student Senate, replacing the position of AS Vice President for Academic Affairs to AS Senate Pro-Tempore, with certain responsibilities moving to the student senate, AS Vice President for Student Life would split into two positions, AS Vice President for Student Services and AS Vice President for Sustainability and removing the position of AS Vice President of Business and Operations, and moving its duties to the AS Business Director.
The proposed 2019 constitution can be found here, and the former 2018 constitution can be found here. The special election is open until Wednesday, Feb. 27, according to an email sent from AS Communications Director Samantha Frost. A recorded livestream of Monday’s candidate forum on Feb. 25 can be found on the AS Facebook page, and a Western Front article about the forum can be found here.
