LETTER: Elections were clearly rigged

Editor,

My name is Scott Paul and I ran for ASUSU president. I have something to say: The whole system is rigged.

If you remember the order on the ballot, it went Les Essig, Josh Cook, Brigham Rupp, Mike Robbins and then me, Scott Paul. That is the very order in which the votes were distributed also. One of the main reasons I didn’t win was because I was last on the ballot.

So why did everyone go out and spend all this money and hand out fliers and give away candy if it was already known who would win? With the nearly 60 candidates running for office, each spending roughly $400, it comes to be $24,000 utterly wasted.

Why not just have a panel made up of students who are randomly selected to review the candidates’ qualifications and platform? The panel spends one hour to come to a final decision, instead of a week, and it is absolutely free of costs. We then save the students running for elections a fine sum of money, and eliminate the popularity contest. We would also save a few trees from being cut down and used on unread fliers.

It comes down to this: I was the only candidate with an “A” in my last name. I am the True Aggie! It’s OK, because next year I will be ready for whoever comes along, and I will win. I will not graduate until I am ASUSU president. I would like to say that even though it was rigged, Les was a worthy opponent and he’s good looking. Ashley Stolworthy was a great leader and a friendly gal; I think she should have been president.

Scott Paul