While the number of executive candidates has decreased for this year’s ASFA elections, the VP finance position has remained sought after and it is the only position with three candidates competing. Here are some candidate specs:
Laura Gomez
Qualifications: “I was part of AISEC Concordia which is an organization focused on international exchange as well as leadership development. And with them I was VP information management which means I was the person in charge of documentation and Internet support so I am familiar with using online resources […] I was also VP Internal of the Latin American Students Organization.”
Platform: “The biggest thing I would like to work on is transparency because it’s important that people know where the money is going. There are 8,000 students in ASFA and it’s essential that they have access to certain documentation that concerns their resources. So I want to provide this documentation.
“I feel like not many students know what ASFA is […] and I feel more student should know about it. The way to go about it is to work with other clubs and associations to get the word out and also to support them. That way students will know what ASFA is and they will also feel that we are accountable to them and we support them.”
Pier-Luc Therrien Peloquin
Qualifications: “I’m currently the political science student association VP finance on leave as well as sitting on ASFA’s financial committee and I’m an ASFA councillor. So I’ve seen how things work from the inside, I’ve been there, I’ve had to deny funding to projects people have worked hard on to accommodate other associations who also needed the funding.”
Platform: “In the annexes of the laws of ASFA there is a certain percentage all the associations are entitled to, their costs, their work. I want to change that. I want to raise from 42 per cent to 50 per cent the money allocated to the member associations, reduce ASFA’s operating costs, reduce spending on frosh or at least make it more accessible to students. It’s all part of my platform.
“Also putting the budget online, more open policies. And I will be accessible.”
Ben Prunty
Qualifications: “I have managerial experience where I have been trusted with the money of a very wealthy Canadian entrepreneur. I negotiated prices with other businesses, organized and chaired staff meetings, mediated between opposing parties and resolved conflicts, to name just a few of my responsibilities. Also I feel that I have an age advantage over the other candidates and at 23 my diversity of life experiences will be a great help, I am sure.”
Platform: “If elected I will thoroughly evaluate the situation before the following year and I will make adjustments where I see fit, more importantly I will seek the advice of the previous VP finance councillors who had fulfilled their duties well. It is also wise to review the mistakes of past councillors for the obvious reason of not repeating them. Allocation will be based on entitlement and needs. I will work closely with the faculty rep’s with the ultimate goal of stretching our money as far as it can go.”
These interviews have been edited for length.
