Assuming there isn’t a second catastrophe of Elections Code violations, checks and court hearings, the UA student body will finally get an ASUA president. This time around, the Daily Wildcat is not going to suggest who you should vote for in today’s special presidential election. We’ve already seen how that movie ends, and it’s not a happy ending.  

However, when the results of the undoubtedly few votes are tallied tonight, we hope that someone both qualified and trustworthy will head the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. If you vote today, we hope you give it some thought:

James Allen

Previous candidate James Allen won the Daily Wildcat’s endorsement in the original election with his convincing enthusiasm for getting work done. Who knew that Allen’s best work would be a spree of questionable code violations and showing up to his ASUA Supreme Court hearing with a bona fide lawyer? While all of this provided plenty of entertainment, it’s not a reason to trust him again.

Daniel Hernandez

After the longest appeals process ever, Hernandez proclaimed himself the “”only legitimate candidate”” on Facebook. That’s arguable, obviously. ASUA Supreme Court may have overturned just enough of Hernandez’s violation checks to re-qualify him, but that doesn’t negate the ones that were upheld. Neither Allen nor Hernandez ever demonstrated a willingness to acknowledge the fact that they may have screwed up. Way to let down some 3,000 voters, not to mention all the other students who just don’t care enough.

Jesse Gunsch

Sort of the Tea Party candidate of ASUA, Gunsch is also the only one with a surprising platform. “”The way tuition is jumping, the way fees continue to go up … I think that is hitting home to most students right now,”” Gunsch said in an interview with the Wildcat. Gunsch’s anti-spending platform revolves around demanding a student vote on all fees and changing the way clubs are funded. We’re skeptical about his dedication to ASUA, partially because he’s the only candidate not dressed in a suit and tie in his online candidate portrait, and also because we’ve never heard of him before, but his platform is a refreshing take on student government.

Robert Rosinski

Rosinski was the dark horse in the ASUA Senate race, but we were rooting for him. Despite his failed senate run, Rosinski continues to push his real-life experiences as a military veteran, small-business owner and family man. It’s hard for most of ASUA’s constituents to relate to those experiences, but they do offer a unique and realistic perspective. With ideas like on-campus child care for students and faculty and restructuring the ASUA budget, Rosinski could be a viable candidate.

Myles Tacher

At press time, his candidate statement was “”Not yet submitted.”” Nice. We actually don’t know much about this guy, except that if you vote for him, a “”new regime”” will begin, according to his “”Myles Tacher for ASUA PRESIDENT!”” Facebook event. In his interview with the Wildcat, Tacher said ASUA is an “”oil well of knowledge, and we’re barely tapping into that.”” We’re not so sure of his skill with metaphors, but we appreciate the recognition that, “”even without ASUA, you’d still have a student body.””

It’s funny that Allen’s and Hernandez’s candidate statements both begin with a proclamation of how excited they are to be running to be “”YOUR”” ASUA president. “”YOUR”” president should have to earn “”YOUR”” vote. Allen and Hernandez have not, and newcomers Gunsch, Rosinski and Tacher require careful consideration. Remember that, regardless of how you vote (if you vote), you’re a constituent, and you deserve to come first on your president’s list of priorities.

— Editorials are determined by the Daily Wildcat editorial board and written by one of its members. They are Kristina Bui, Ken Contrata, Michelle A. Monroe and Heather Price-Wright. They can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.