Campus Times Endorses Pete Nabozny for SA President

In this time of governmental transition, the president of the Students’ Association necessarily needs to be a facilitator. With a new constitution in the works, as well as proposed restructuring of the senate, any presidential candidate will need to not only continue the work started by Chris Calo’s administration in repairing relationships between different branches of the government, but also deal with these upcoming changes.This coming term will be defined by the way in which this important transition occurs, and we see the role of the president as one who will best be able to manage, delegate, and promote productivity, while avoiding becoming entrenched in any particular element of the changeover.This past term has shown marked improvement, under Calo’s leadership, in terms of coordination and cooperation within government with the administration.Ensuring the smooth functioning of the government ought to be the top priority for any candidate, and part of this is reflected by showing a certain flexibility of agenda. While it is important for the president to have clear goals, and outline a method of pursuing those goals, changing plans to meet the unforeseen challenges of the office will be crucial.In this election, junior Pete Nabozny’s platform and experience set him apart as a candidate for the presidency. Nabozny was a senator in his sophomore year, and continued on to be the Deputy Speaker this year. While both junior Ilana Kaplan-Shain and sophomore Matt Goldblatt have experience in student government as well, Nabozny’s unique interpretation of the role of the president under the proposed constitution places him in the best position to support the transition to come.Nabozny is approachable and self-assured, a combination which makes for a good representative of the student body. He can fill the role of facilitator and help to make sure that the parts of government function well together.Nabozny has shown an ability to balance the various responsibilities and activities he is involved in with a role in student government, and will be capable of doing so even in this more intensive position.This is an ongoing process, and it is of the utmost importance that we move forward in both of these areas. Nabozny will need to work well with the administration and other student leaders, hopefully through the fulfillment of planned “umbrella groups” and senate restructuring, this can be accomplished.Kaplan-Shain is another excellent candidate. She also has a breadth of experience, and the focus and drive to succeed. She has shown herself able to accomplish tangible goals within the government, and has worked on both the executive and legislative branches. Kaplan-Shain’s take on the presidency would differ from Nabozny’s in character. She would be more hands-on, and more driven. And while none of those qualities are negative, we think that the character of the upcoming administration ought to be more that of an organizer and less hands-on.Goldblatt also presents himself as a strong candidate. Well-spoken, clear-headed, and fervently enthusiastic about the school, he suggests ideas that are worthy of some serious attention. However, due to his relative youth and inexperience – in comparison to the other candidates – we feel that he would benefit greatly from an additional year working in the government before heading it. Goldblatt seems like an ideal member for the cabinet in the upcoming term, where he can both gain some experience and implement important parts of his platform alongside a more experience leader.Sophomore Dan Rudolph, an outsider to SA politics, has many broad ideas, and idealistic goals – both good qualities in a candidate. However, his lack of experience in working with student government and administration would most certainly function as a roadblock to all of the changes he might hope to implement. As a sophomore, Rudolph has a good opportunity to get involved now in other elements of government, and run again when he has some experience under his belt. This would allow him to structure his ideas in a way to maximize their chances of successful implementation.Our choice in who to endorse reflects the type of presidency we hope to see in the coming year. Nabozny’s style lends itself very well to this period of governmental restructuring, and he will hopefully continue the work done in Calo’s administration, as well as expand on the theme of governmental cooperation.