The whirl of orange and blue stickers, fliers and T-shirts signals the start of Student Government elections today, but the campaign goodies come with a lofty price tag.
SG campaign finance records show that budgets for the two parties - the Gator Party and the Orange and Blue Party - total almost $14,600, with the Gator Party's budget accounting for $11,100 of the amount.
The money comes from donations made by party candidates and supporters. Spring SG elections, in which executive positions and roughly half of the Student Senate seats will be filled, will take place today and Wednesday.
The Gator Party spent more than $8,000 on campaign materials, including banners, stickers, T-shirts and glossy fliers, according to the records.
Frank Aguilera, Gator campaign treasurer, said the remaining funds would be spent on food and drinks for the party's nearly 1,000 volunteers during the campaign's last leg.
The Orange and Blue Party's budget is about $7,000 less than its opponent's, standing at about $3,500, but party officials said Orange and Blue doesn't need more money to get its message out.
"It's interesting how we're being just as visible," said Frank Bracco, the party's vice presidential candidate.
The Orange and Blue Party has about $500 left unspent, records state.
Steven Hoffstetter, Gator Party president, said the senators would campaign from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the final days of the party's five-day campaign.
"It's the lifeblood of the Gator Party," Hoffstetter said, adding the party encourages its volunteers to leave students with more than just a flier or sticker but an understanding of the party's platform too.
Mark McShera, Orange and Blue Party chairman, said about 40 volunteers have helped pass out T-shirts, fliers and stickers, and some supporters have donned promotional sandwich boards on their backs.
The party's grassroots, "indie" campaign kicked off Feb. 17, Bracco said.
He said the party released its campaign "secret weapon" Monday afternoon: four orange-and-blue posters with messages against Gator Party officials. The laminated signs display quotes extracted from student senators' e-mails, obtained via a public records request by the Orange and Blue Party.
One sign's message states "The Gator Party is old" - attributed to Kevin Reilly from a Hispanic Student Association event - with "Tomorrow Started Yesterday" underneath, a twist on the Gator Party's slogan, "Tomorrow Starts Today." McShera said the signs on Turlington Plaza against Gator members sitting a few feet away were provocative, and most students said they liked them.
Hoffstetter said he disagreed with the Orange and Blue Party's tactics. The Gator Party's policy is not to "point the finger" at its opposition, he said.
Joshua Rosenauer, an independent candidate, has spent no money in his bid for a seat in Student Senate, according to SG records.
