Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) election results for senators and executive members with Blake Zante elected as next year’s president were announced Thursday at the University Student Union pavilion.
Some 3,228 students voted in this year’s ASI elections, according to Destiny Armendariz, ASI elections commissioner.
The ASI referendum for the addition of two new senate positions was approved, the “Bold New U” fee referendum was not.
Zante’s entire slate “Students United” candidates won their races, as well.
“I’m really humbled and honored actually. I was really overwhelmed when they announced my name,” Zante said. “But I’m feeling great. I’m feeling all the hard work paid off and I’m really looking forward to continuing on next year as president.”
Zante, ASI’s current executive vice president, plans to set a political agenda based on the needs that were addressed throughout the campaign period.
“I really want to reach out to the other candidates that ran and make sure that I’m addressing their concerns and the issues that they campaigned on,” Zante said. “I think it’s really important that the groups of people that voted for them and the groups of people they represented are also being heard.”
Now that he is elected, Zante wants students to continue their passion at Fresno State.
“I want them [students] to know that I’m going to work hard to represent their needs and concerns,” Zante said. “I’m going to focus on the issues I talked about during my campaign. I want Fresno State students to get excited about their campus again and get involved.”
Primavera Martinez and Cody Sedano won positions as senator at large. Their campaigns focused on expressing campus diversity and success for every student.
Martinez was the only one from the “People of Action” slate to win a seat in the senate, lead by ASI presidential candidate Cecilia Ruesta. Their goal as a team was to actively support the concerns of the diverse student population.
“As a senator at large, I will try to ensure that ASI continues to become more and more diverse and inclusive, and that it doesn’t take any step backwards,” Martinez said. “I think that although it would have been great to have my slate members in there, I definitely at least hope the people filling the executive positions will be open to some ideas as to how to make it more diverse and accessible.”
Sedano and his slate “A Voice for All Students” all won their positions as senators at large. They want to bring attention to “nontraditional” students. Sedano is a veteran and a single father and hopes that students in similar situations obtain resources needed for their education.
“I’m glad I won. I’m glad my slate won. They’re my best friends. We’ve been working in student government for over two years now,” Sedano said. “We love it. This is our passion. We love hearing what students want from us, and we do our best to adhere to that.”
This story was contributed by Jessica Johnson.