Running mates contemplate their union
Erin LaRuffa
News Writer
Most Notre Dame students pay little attention to why two candidates in the student body election end up running together.
But to the candidates themselves, running mates are very significant. In fact, some presidential candidates put a great deal of time into deciding whom they would ask to run with them.
"I wanted someone who was a strong leader," said presidential candidate Ryan Becker, who considered several different potential vice presidential candidates before deciding on Nikki McCord in November.
"I think Ryan picked me because he felt I was a very qualified candidate," McCord said, explaining that she and Becker know each other from working together on the Student Senate this year.
Running mates Brooke Norton and Brian Moscona met through their involvement in class council. Last year, Norton was an advisor to the freshman class council, which Moscona was part of.
"We've been able to work together for the past year and a half … We work very well as a team," Moscona said.
Norton called Moscona at home in January to ask him to run with her, he said. The two talked on the phone for several hours.
"He's a really good person. He has his values in the right place," Norton said.
"I was really flattered … because I have tremendous respect for Brooke," Moscona said. "I feel absolutely honored to be running with her."
Moscona added their respective strengths and weaknesses complement each other well, a characteristic other tickets also find beneficial as they run their campaigns.
"I think there has to be a chemistry or a compatibility [between the president and vice president]," Allison Henisey said. "Holt [Zeidler] and I definitely have that."
In fact, these two running mates have been friends for almost three years, and also have been involved in student government together.
"We met each other on the first day of freshman year," Henisey said. "We've always been able to work together to get things done."
Zeidler did not originally consider Henisey, she said, because the two are so close. However, he realized that she would be a strong running mate and called her over break, according to Henisey.
Not only are running mates Chris Zimmerman and Andy Nelson friends, they are also roommates.
"Fortunately, when the University put us together freshman year, it did a good job. Chris is one of my best friends here," Nelson said.
Both feel that their friendship will benefit them if they are elected to office.
"We'll share duties … There won't be any animosity if one of us asks the other to do something," Nelson said. "I look forward to the prospect for us to work together."
Zimmerman and Nelson first discussed running during last year's student body president election, according to Nelson. Zimmerman initially suggested the idea, so he is the one heading up the ticket.
"Chris was the first person to say we should run, so that's why he is president," Nelson said.
Although not roommates, Maureen Gottlieb and Victoria Fetterman are good friends and partners on the debate team, according to Gottlieb.
"At the end of the day, we're friends, and I think that's the most important thing," said Gottlieb. "We didn't just come together as a ticket to run. We work together all the time"
They first talked about running together a year ago, but did not decide definitely until the beginning of this semester, according to Gottlieb.
"We both wanted to do it," Gottlieb said. "We picked each other."
As for running mates Demetra Smith and Yogeld Andre, they met while studying in France last year.
"We formed a very strong bond. We have a mutual respect," Andre said.
"Yogeld was the first person who popped into my head," Smith said of her decision on a running mate. "I thought about a number of people, but in the end, Yogeld seemed like the person I should run with. He was very enthusiastic."
For Smith and Becker alike, it was important to have a running mate who would be willing to voice a dissenting opinion about platform ideas and other campaign issues.
"[Smith] knew that I have different perspectives on things and that I would not be afraid to tell her when I disagreed," Andre said.
In Becker's case, he said he noticed in the senate that McCord is not afraid to stand up for unpopular ideas, even if she knows she will eventually be outvoted.
"That impressed me," Becker said.
He added that because McCord has been a student senator, she has the experience necessary to run the student senate, a job required of the student body vice president.
"Senate experience for the vice president is a must," Becker said. "Nikki's been there."
None of the other vice presidential candidates has senate experience, but they said they do not believe it is necessary to be an effective senate chair.
"I know experience matters, but I think what matters most in the election will be good ideas and a desire to do good things for the University," Nelson said.
"I was never in the Senate," said Norton, who as current vice president has been running the group for almost a year. "As long as you like to work with people, you can be chair of the senate."
Not only is it possible for someone without senate experience to be its chair, it can also be beneficial to have an outsider as chair, according to Norton.
"It also brings new flavor to the senate, new ideas," she explained.
Other candidates added that what is important is for the vice president to have some form leadership experience, not necessarily experience in a particular group.
"I do have leadership experience," Andre said. "I have been involved in this community."
Similarly, Henisey and Zeidler said that lack of senate experience was not a problem for a student body vice president. Henisey has held leadership positions and knows how to run meetings, according to Zeidler, who credited Norton as having done a good job as senate chair without having been a senator.
Factors other than experience and strong working relationships my also play into the vice presidential selection process. One such factor is gender.
Four of the six pairs in the race consist of one female and one male.
While Becker said gender was not the only factor he considered in picking a running mate, he added that he felt it was beneficial to have a male and female running together.
"I felt that it was important to have a female to balance the ticket," said Becker. "Women's issues are very important."
Gender balance is not necessary for a strong ticket but can help, according to Moscona.
"I think it's important to have a male and female on the ticket because it brings a different perspective," he said. "It's important to have balance and to have those different opinions."
Nelson, however, said it was an "incorrect assumption" to believe that he and Zimmerman are identical because they are both sophomore males. Nelson explained that they come from different parts of the country, different high schools, and different families, and also do different activities on campus.
"It's not like you're electing Chris and his clone, or Andy and his clone," Nelson said. "Chris and I bring a certain kind of diversity."
Whether it is better for the candidates to be from different graduating classes was another point of disagreement among the candidates.
Over the past year working with current student body president Brian O'Donoghue, a senior, Norton said she has learned that there are many benefits to having a student body president and vice president from different classes.
"I think you get more perspectives that way," said Norton, a junior. She added that that such a ticket is "more representative of the student body."
"I'm not so far away from freshmen," sophomore Moscona said. "She's coming from more of an upperclassman's perspective."
Becker, a junior, and McCord, a sophomore, similarly feel that coming from different classes adds to their ticket.
"It definitely helps. Student government is about representation for the whole student body," said McCord.
Some candidates, however, feel that a sophomore could not be as prepared as a junior for the role of vice president.
"I think it's one of our strengths that she has another year of experience," said junior Zeidler, referring to his running mate, junior Henisey.
"My sophomore year, I don't know if I would have been as confident in my capabilities as I am now," said Henisey.
All News Stories for Wednesday, February 7, 2001
