At the end of this year’s ASUA election cycle, Tommy Bruce will become the first president of the organization to serve more than one term.
Running unopposed has guaranteed Bruce the spot for a second year and he plans on using it to his full advantage.
Although one person has attempted this feat, no president has ever held office for two terms in UA history, said Claudia Dávilla, adviser for the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.
“”I’m thrilled for the opportunity and I knew that I couldn’t pass it up because there is the ability to grow our organization and the projects we’re working on,”” said Bruce, a marketing junior. “”We run into the high turnover during the transition period. This is a good chance to complete a lot of these projects.””
Running unopposed is not as rare as being a two-term president but has still only happened twice in ASUA history, Dávilla said.
Derek Lewis in 1993 and T.J. Trujillo in 1994 ran uncontested, she said.
“”I think either way if you run unopposed you are still going to put all your effort into it to make sure you get the student’s vote of confidence and you really want that behind you,”” she said.
Even though Bruce won’t be facing an opponent, he still believes the contest brings many obstacles.
“”Usually a presidential race drives voter turnout, so having an uncontested race there means a little less voter turnout than I would like to see,”” he said. “”I mean, I don’t have platforms because I am president now, tomorrow and next year I don’t need to run on them when I can implement them now.””
Bruce’s colleagues feel he has done a good job the past year and think a second term has a lot of potential.
Last night, Bruce fielded questions in a presidential forum in the Kiva Room of the Student Union Memorial Center.
When Bruce was asked about his performance as ASUA President he said he learned the “”ins and outs”” of the UA and knows what he needs to do for his second term.
“”He’s made a lot of progress,”” said David Martinez III, a secondary education senior and the student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents. “”Being a representative of nearly 30,000 students and being able to manage being a student is hard, and he’s done great just representing the students and done a lot of great things to keep ASUA moving forward.””
Dávilla agreed.
“”I think it’s beneficial to the department because there is continuity and you are finishing off projects that are lingering so he has input on making sure they follow through for the following year,”” Dávilla said.
While the election results are a new direction for the UA, most students still do not participate in ASUA elections, and others do not know who Bruce is or what he stands for.
“”The name sounds familiar, but I don’t know where from,”” said Krista Perry, a sophomore majoring in chemistry and math.
Even if students do not know who he is, Bruce still plans to use his next term to finish projects he implemented during his first year, including redoing the wait list process on WebReg and implementing an academic advising program review.
Bruce also said in the presidential forum that he would like to reinstate the Pacific 10 President Conference, bringing together the presidents of all Pac-10 schools which hasn’t happened in seven years.
“”There are some huge issues for students we are dealing with and we can hit the ground running because there will be no turnover period,”” he said.
Bruce anxiously awaits being the first two-term president because there are no examples for him to follow.
“”I am most nervous and excited for the uncharted waters thing,”” Bruce said. “”I don’t know what types of challenges there will be, but I think there are a lot of benefits, which will outweigh the challenges. Who knows what the future could hold in terms of what could be accomplished? It keeps me up at night.””
