Two Student Government parties announced their candidates for executive positions three weeks before elections start.
Feb. 22 and 23, UF students can cast their votes for a new Student Body president, Vice President and Treasurer. Students will also choose 50 new senators to take over seats organized by college and credit hours.
All parties running this election must be registered with the Supervisor of Elections by Jan. 27 at noon.
Campaign season officially began Tuesday night.
Within 17 hours, Gator Party announced its executive ticket in the Plaza of the Americas Wednesday morning. Gator Party currently holds the SG executive office and the majority of the UF Senate.
In 50-degree weather, roughly 50 students crowded around a lectern to meet the candidates.
Around 11 a.m., party president Timothy Shin introduced the party’s ticket: Lauren Lemasters for Student Body president, Daniel Badell for Vice President and Sierra Kantamneni for Treasurer.
“I will be only the ninth woman to serve as Student Body president,” Lemasters said. “It’s been a while, and I do not take lightly the responsibility that comes with this.”
All three candidates currently hold positions in SG offices. Lemasters serves as the chief of staff to the Student Body president, Badell as the SG transition cabinet chair and Kantamneni as the chief of staff to the Student Body vice president.
Student Body President Cooper Brown looks forward to the candidates’ bid for office, he said. He wants to shift the public’s focus from himself to the new executive ticket’s leadership and campaign.
The Communist Party, led by President Aron Ali-McClory, also has their executive ticket planned out.
Alfredo Ortiz will run for Student Body president, Izzy Myers for Vice President and Anthony “Ant” Conde for Treasurer, Ali-McClory wrote in an email.
“Candidates will come from a diverse set of backgrounds, bringing their unique sets of skills to the table to help realize our ambitious platform,” he wrote.
Change Party did not respond to a request for comment in time for the Alligator’s publication.
It is unclear whether other parties will run. The Alligator submitted a request for the list of registered parties once it has been finalized.
Contact Maia Botek mbotek@alligator.org. Contact her on Twitter @BotekMaia
Maia Botek is a third-year journalism major and Spanish minor covering student government this semester. Maia is from South Florida and enjoys the beach, spending time with her friends and learning about the environment in her free time.
