Two Candidates to Vie For ASG Presidency

Current ASG President Andrew Payne will run for re-election against challenger David Chesley, who is ASG vice president for legislative affairs.

The following is an outline of their platform goals.

Andrew Payne

Payne, who has served as president since last September, is a senior double major in environmental science and engineering at N.C. State University.

In the past, Payne also has served as student body treasurer and academic committee chairman at N.C. State.

As president, Payne helped organize the Students' Day at the Capitol in February, where students lobbied state lawmakers to raise awareness about student concerns.

Payne said he wants to return for a second term as ASG president because the organization still has room for growth.

He said he hopes to make the organization more accountable to UNC-system students by giving them a vested interest in ASG via a student fee, a proposal that students would vote on in a referendum. "I want students to vote on the idea of a mandatory refundable fee that will hopefully serve as a referendum on ASG," Payne said.

Payne went on to say he would focus on the internal structure of ASG if re-elected. "We have visions of large goals, and we try to jump at them instead of taking the daily steps to make the visions become reality," he said. "I plan to change that."

Payne's running mate is Sonja Blanks, student body president of Fayetteville State University.

Payne said her experiences in student government and at the small, historically black university will be of great value. "We need to restrengthen ties between ASG and other organizations such as the N.C. Black Student Organization."

David Chesley

David Chesley is Payne's only opponent in the upcoming ASG election.

Chesley, a junior political science major at Western Carolina University, is the ASG vice president for legislative affairs. He also served as a student senator and chief of communications at WCU.

Chesley also helped organize Students' Day at the Capitol and worked on a bill allowing for a student vote on the Board of Governors.

Chesley said he has big plans for ASG. "The biggest part of my platform will be to publicize and market ASG through public activities such as summits, student days and published reports."

Chesley also said he would run a fund-raising campaign for the organization by targeting BOG members and others.

He plans to standardize transfer credit hours between the 16 UNC-system schools and fight tuition increases.

As part of his platform, he wants to involve more schools with the ASG. "The key is becoming more active as an association in all areas to build influence in N.C. business, politics and education."

Veronica Hatton, UNC-Pembroke student body president, will run as Chesley's vice president. Chesley said, "(Hatton) brings experience to the ticket as student body president, as well as a different perspective from a different part of the state."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.