In the buildup to elections for Associated Students, Inc. on March 25-27, The Collegian talked with the two candidates running for vice president of finance, hoping to take charge of balancing ASI’s budget. Anthony Farnesi and Nicole Warmerdam both offered their takes on the role.

Anthony Farnesi

Anthony Farnesi, 19, enters the race after spending the past year as a senator on the finance committee and aims to bring increased “transparency” for students about ASI spending, if elected.

While conscious that the vice president of finance is a job mostly “set in stone and regulated by the accountants,” Farnesi hopes to promote awareness among students about where their money is being spent.

“Furthering people’s knowledge of that is the biggest thing that somebody could do at this point,” Farnesi said.

A sophomore majoring in physics and computer science, Farnesi is currently senator for student affairs after spending the fall semester as a senator for residential affairs.

Yet beyond his experience as a senator, Farnesi said serving on the finance committee has best prepared him for the position. After working closely with the current vice president of finance, Rebecca Rosengarten, Farnesi believes he can now “step up.”

“I just feel confident and prepared that I know everything I need to do, can do and how to do it,” Farnesi said. “So I thought it would be a good call to run for it.”

If elected, Farnesi plans to execute his main goal of transparency by expanding an interactive program recently started by Rosengarten. The program releases all of ASI’s spending online, both currently and in recent years.

Farnesi believes the program’s strength is that it “keeps everyone honest.”

“It’s just a way for students to be able to see where their money is actually going and what ASI is spending their student fees on,” Farnesi said.

The program is run through OpenGov, a company that offers financial transparency software. However, Farnesi explains the issue with the program is that “nobody knows about it,” which is something he hopes to change in order to increase student understanding.

Born and raised in Fresno, Farnesi was exposed to the role of ASI while still at high school. His older sister, Selena, served as a senator, executive vice president and president of ASI while at Fresno State.

While he plans on making his own path, Farnesi said his sister’s work gave him “the information to get involved, especially early on.”

Nicole Warmerdam

A major in business administration and accounting, sophomore Nicole Warmerdam is running for the vice president of finance position in hope of ensuring funds are “allocated in a manner that is ethical, equitable and transparent to all student groups.”

After moving from Visalia for college, the 19-year-old sophomore said she has a “strong desire to serve the 20,000-plus students here at Fresno State.”

“I have always been very involved in my community, and for the past couple of years, Fresno State has been home,” Warmerdam said.

In Warmerdam’s opinion, the most important aspect of the leadership role is representation.

“I want to guarantee that the student body’s voice is heard in every ASI financial decision,” she said.

Warmerdam says ensuring clubs and organizations have resources is a necessity in seeing groups “successful in their endeavors.”

In addition to representation, Warmerdam said creating transparency is another significant issue for ASI.

“It is my goal to help make the financial activities of ASI more transparent to the student population,” she said. ­“I want students to know we are using their funding in the fairest way possible.”

If elected, this will be Warmerdam’s first affiliation with ASI, yet she said this could be an advantage.

“I believe I will offer a fresh take on issues and bring a different perspective when it comes to this organization,” she said.

Currently the ambassador and treasurer of the Student Association for Sustainability, Warmerdam said her time holding various leadership positions for campus organizations would help her with ASI financial decision-making.

She also worked as a clerical accountant at Lagomarsino Group, a farm management company, so Warmerdam believes she has the skills to handle the position.

“My educational background and my work experience have both prepared me for the responsibilities of the VP of finance,” she said.

Warmerdam is a distant relative of Cornelius Warmerdam, the former Fresno State athlete and coach the campus’ Warmerdam Field is named after. Competing for Fresno State in the 1930s, Warmerdam went on to be a world record holder in the pole vault.