Former SUUSA presidential candidate TJ Nelson faced an unusual challenge during elections, as Cody Alderson was one of the few SUUSA presidents in history to run for re-election.
Dennis Busch, election co-director and opinion editor for the Journal, said Eric Houle, men’s and women’s cross country and track coach, ran for and won a re-election as a student in the early ‘80s. He is the only two-term SUUSA President in SUU’s history, Busch said.
Nelson said there are pros and cons to running against an incumbent.
“A majority of people know who Cody is and they know he has the experience to be student body president, so that creates a challenge,” he said.
Nelson said he knows people who are not happy with the way SUUSA was run this past year so it could work in his favor because people want change.
“I feel like I have a little bit of outsider’s prospective on the way things have been run previously,” Nelson said. “I feel strong motivation to actually go out amongst the students because students want SUUSA to be more accessible to them.”
Nelson said he wants students to know he can provide reform that is both empowering and balanced.
“I have been at SUU since 2005; I have seen some things that SUUSA isn’t able to see and I know what needs to happen,” he said.
Nelson said he has learned how to be a leader, how to organize people and get a party together during this election. I still don’t think this is very clear. “With hard work you can get people to believe in you and to work for you as you show them that you care,” Nelson said. “I have been able to meet a lot of new people and build relationships with people that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.”
Busch said most student body presidents have seen that they can accomplish most of what they wanted in one term.
SUUSA president is a demanding, full-time position and could lead to being burned out, Busch said. However, he doesn’t think this is the case for Alderson.
“He has a lot of plans left, so that is why he is seeking re-election and that’s what makes this election so interesting,” Busch said. “You so seldom have an incumbent running.”
Alderson said he is prepared for another year as SUUSA president because of the recent restructure changes to student government.
“I just want to make sure they work out,” Alderson said. “I want to see it through (because) I know the restructure better than anybody else.”
Alderson said big changes to SUUSA include how things are funded, how students request funding and changes to SUUSA positions.
“We are trying to take it to the next level and focus on the people we do affect,” Alderson said. “My platform is creating a better student experience ... from all the student groups to activities; I want to create a more meaningful experience for them.”
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