Editorial board endorsement: General representative standouts Kono, Neesby and Wood offer well-defined goals with enthusiasm

Three general representative candidates ““ Michiaki Kono,
Brian Neesby and Jenny Wood ““ stand above the rest. They are
informed, enthusiastic and believable.

Compared even to candidates for higher offices, they are
unusually capable. Kono, Neesby and Wood have goals that are well
defined, realistic and will improve the campus for all students.
They are likely to be refreshingly civil and knowledgeable in their
role as voting members of council.

Kono, an independent, does not have experience working with
USAC, but his enthusiasm and enterprising approach more than make
up for any lack of experience.

Unlike the candidates who could not offer a convincing reason
why they needed this position to accomplish their goals,
Kono’s vision for the office articulates why he needs the
“gen rep” title. He wants to plan and fund a wireless
network covering the entire campus, improve safety and lighting
around the apartments, and use MyUCLA and resident assistants to
keep students informed about important USAC issues.

Kono has already talked to several of the administrators who
would need to help with these projects, many of whom he says would
take him more seriously if he had USAC credentials. Kono’s
initiative suggests that he will complete his goals and be ready to
tackle new projects as the year progresses.

More important than his specific plans is his vision for the
office. Kono, who is also known as Moochfish on his campaign
materials, has a sophisticated understanding of what the general
representative seat can be used to accomplish.

Brian Neesby is General Representative Josh Lawson’s chief
of staff, running on the Equal Access Coalition Slate. He has
worked hard in that office and demonstrated a particularly strong
grasp of the legal and administrative issues the council must deal
with next year.

Neesby’s main goals next year are to open the funding
process to more student groups, fight for student voting rights in
the Academic Senate, abolish the expected cumulative progress
requirement, and improve BruinGo!.

Neesby has already spent a year researching the issue of student
group funding, and he has experience as the former president of the
El Camino College student government. He is a credible leader who
promises to work with all councilmembers, regardless of their slate
affiliation.

Jenny Wood is a proven organizer of campus activities. She
worked this year as a staff member in the USAC internal vice
presidential office, served as the chair of UCLA’s Dance
Marathon, and worked as director of the Best Buddies service
program. She is a member of the Students First! slate.

Wood wants to implement a “Get Tested” week to teach
students about sexually transmitted diseases and myths about sex.
She plans to create a Web site that will allow students interested
in service to have a central source of information. She has also
committed to fight to preserve community outreach.

While her goals are mainly community service-oriented, they are
unique and have the potential to improve student life. Like Neesby,
Wood has said she will work closely with all councilmembers.

The other general representative candidates ““ Andrew
Green, Anneli Villarin, Alonzo Martin Del Campo and Tommy Tseng
““ are generally capable, but lack innovative ideas and strong
credentials.

Simply put, they blur together when compared to Kono, Neesby and
Wood.

If these three are elected, the council will have an eclectic
mix of general representatives from different affiliations who will
bring very different goals and knowledge to the table. Best of all,
their goals do not conflict, and each of them has a intuitive
approach to their role as voting councilmembers.