ASMCC election winners announced
By: Elliott Adams
The winners of the elections for the Associated Students of Mesa Community College Executive Board have been announced.
After a week of voting in booths set up around campus and through an online survey, all votes have been counted and the new members of ASMCC have been determined.
The elections officially began on April 7, and students had until April 11 to cast their votes for their chosen candidate.
With a projected goal of 1,200 votes, this year’s election fell short with a total of 574 ballots: 249 online ballots and 325 paper ballots.
According to Kim Kocak, the program adviser for Student Life and Leadership at MCC, this year’s election including votes from the Red Mountain campus, produced more in-person votes than any other previous years.
Candidates running for election campaigned their efforts by posting fliers around school, speaking in classrooms and club meetings, and socializing with students on campus.
ASMCC also ran events like the presidential debate on April 3, which gave students an opportunity to learn more about their potential government officers by asking questions about potential policies.
Winners of the election were notified before the official announcement at a Student Senate meeting.
The new ASMCC officers are: Martin Cordova—President, Rukiya O’garro—Vice President, Alexis Bennett—Vice President of Communications, Piao Villarreal—Vice President of Fiscal Affairs, and Crystal Bright—Vice President of Red Mountain.
Martin Cordova was announced as the presidential election winner and will begin his term as ASMCC president during the 2014-15 academic year.
Cordova said he was pleased with his campaign and the winning results it produced for him.
With a limited budget of $100, Cordova used this money to print fliers and buttons to promote his face and his slogan: “Martin Cordova: Representing You”.
Though his term doesn’t officially begin until the fall, Cordova said he’s already started planning for the year and is hoping to meet with other Student Senate members over the summer in order to organize changes on campus.
“My main goal as president is to get ASMCC known on campus, so students know they have a place where they can share their concerns, complaints or any changes they want to see at MCC,” Cordova said. “I also want to be someone that students at MCC can just come sit down, talk to and just hang out with. I like making everybody feel welcome, and I want to be a president that’s open to everybody.”
During his presidential term, Cordova will be working closely with winner of the Vice President of ASMCC position, Rukiya O’garro.
O’garro said current president Lucas Bodine and future president Martin Cordova inspired her to run for office, and she is excited about her win.
Her campaign for Vice President included handing out lollipops, running lemonade and snow cone stands and speaking in classrooms that contain computers.
“I went into a lot of classrooms but mainly ones that had computers in them,” O’garro said. “Because this year we had the option to cast votes online, classrooms with computers gave students the perfect opportunity to vote there and then as I was speaking to them.”
O’garro said she will be taking a lighter course load for the fall semester in order to accommodate her new position as Vice President.
She also said she will be working with Martin to enhance the clubs at MCC and create more events so students can get more involved.
Lucas Bodine, the current president of ASMCC, said he was pleased with this year’s election and the campaigns that came along with it.
During his campaign, Bodine mainly focused on speaking with students face-to-face, but also had fliers and posters printed free of charge, thanks to his brother-in-law’s print company.
Bodine said he was pleased with every candidate’s effort to promote their campaigns and is looking forward to seeing how ASMCC progresses once he graduates.
“Martin has a good grip on the system of ASMCC,” Bodine said. “He’s got a great understanding of student needs so I think it’ll be an easy transition for him.”
After experiencing his own election week, Bodine said he commends those who decide to run for election, as it’s a busy commitment.
