Elections board presents USAC candidates, amendments and referendum on 2021 ballot

Undergraduate students will vote for about 40 candidates, three constitutional amendments and one referendum in the undergraduate student government election in spring 2021.

Alfred Tun, Undergraduate Students Association Elections Board chair and fourth-year economics and political science student, presented the spring election ballot at the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting Tuesday. The elections board manages all election-related activities and administers elections each spring.

The candidates:

• The spring 2021 ballot will include 39 candidates vying for 15 student government positions. Only two seats – the Cultural Affairs commissioner and the international student representative – will be uncontested.

• Twenty of the 39 candidates will be supported by three slates: For the People, Bruin Solutions and Bruins Adelante Coalition. The rest are not represented by any slate.
• Eight of the current 15 USAC councilmembers hail from the For the People slate.

The referendum:

• The referendum, called the Bruin Emergency Relief Fund, would increase student fees for all undergraduate students by $2 per quarter to create a fund for students facing emergencies, such as natural disasters, medical costs, legal costs and housing or food insecurity.

The constitutional amendments:

• The first constitutional amendment on the ballot would give the USA Judicial Board the jurisdiction and authority to enforce the guiding documents of the association.
• Another would reduce the term limits of judicial board justices to a maximum of two years from four years.
• The final constitutional amendment would allow the elections board to certify elected candidates without USAC approval.

The 2021 election cycle will be the first time the USAC spring election will be held completely online. Two USAC candidate debates will be held virtually in collaboration with the Daily Bruin on April 28 and 29.

Voting is set to begin April 30 at 8 a.m. and run until May 7 at 2 p.m. The full list of candidates is below.

President:

• Armaan Singh (Bruin Solutions)
• Breeze Velazquez (For The People)
• Moises Hernandez (Independent)
• Rutik Shinglot (Independent)

Internal vice president:

• Bakur Madini (Bruin Solutions)
• Cassandra Gatica (For The People)

External vice president:

• Jacob Keer (Bruin Solutions)
• Sarah Wang (Independent)
• Yostina Wasef (Independent)

General representative (three available spots):

• Adam ElSayed (Independent)
• Alex De Santiago (Independent)
• Arturo Bustos Ochoa (Independent)
• Asante Spencer (Independent)
• Ayesha Aslam-Mir (Independent)
• Carl King Jr. (Independent)
• Hailey Valles (For The People)
• Himaja Vendidandi (Independent)
• Jacob Linder (Bruin Solutions)
• Jeffry Umana (For The People)
• Jesse Johnson (Independent)
• Passa Pungchai (Bruin Solutions)

Academic Affairs commissioner:

• Angelina Quint (For The People)
• Atharva Kulkarni (Bruin Solutions)
• Lizeth Chimal (Bruins Adelante Coalition)

Campus Events commissioner:

• Brigid Ahern (Independent)
• Maya Sanghavi (Independent)

Community Service commissioner:

• Rohit Gore (Independent)
• Mominah Subhan (Independent)

Cultural Affairs commissioner:

• Promise Ogunleye (For The People)

Facilities commissioner:

• Elijah Simas (Bruin Solutions)
• Jane Ni (For The People)

Financial Supports commissioner:

• Emily Klarissa Yu (Independent)
• Sam Seidel (Bruin Solutions)

Student Wellness commissioner:

• Brandon McClelland (Bruin Solutions)
• Kavya Juwadi (Independent)
• Tayloneei Jackson (Independent)

Transfer student representative:

• Harmonie Yacob (Bruin Solutions)
• Herman Luis Chavez (Bruins Adelante Coalition)

International student representative:

• Natalia Garcia Tang (Bruin Solutions)