The executive ticket in the 2022 election for Undergraduate Student Government Tempe has no competition — Andrew Kalthoff, Brooke Meier and Morgann Kelly make up the sole ticket running. Kalthoff is running for president, Meier is running for vice president of service and Kelly is running for vice president of policy.
With the Tempe executive ticket representing thousands of students, to see only one presidential administration is rare and has not happened in the past three years of USGT elections.
Candidates for the Kalthoff ticket said in an email that the team "chose to have an engaging campaign regardless of the fact that we are running unopposed."
"We are persistent. We want to gather the same voter turnout as we would if we were running against two to three tickets," the Kalthoff ticket said in the email.
The Kalthoff ticket's platform focuses on inclusion, advocacy, transparency and the student experience.
"The Kalthoff Executive Ticket supports diversity, equity and inclusion of all identity and accessibility-based concerns," Kelly wrote on her Instagram. "We will serve as a liaison between ASU's community and higher administration regarding essential resources for emotional and physical well-being and will seek to improve the transparency of student leadership by prioritizing the ASU student experience as a community-building project."
The Kalthoff ticket aims to create more resources advocating for the well-being of students, especially for those struggling with mental health, communities facing discrimination and sexual assault victims. This process will also incorporate advertising through tabling events, flyers and social media explaining the resources USG provides and the processes students need to go through to receive them.
Kalthoff said as student body president, he wants to do more to support student organizations.
"I want to create an open dialogue between the USG and the students through the clubs and organizations on campus and be able to meet their needs and vision for the future," Kalthoff said in an email.
The Kalthoff team wants USG to be transparent with students, they said it is "important that students are aware where their money is going and how they can have a say in what the USG spends it on," according to the campaign platform.
"We will be transparent with the student body and keep them as involved as possible in the Undergraduate Student Government and its initiatives," the Kalthoff ticket said in an email. "As students of the largest public university in the country, we believe the student experience should actively reflect the wants and needs of every student."
While these are the campaign's primary focuses, the Kalthoff team wrote that its platform is a "living document" and they are willing to make changes benefitting students.
Kalthoff and Kelly have a history participating in ASU's student government.
Kalthoff is a senator representing Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He manages travel and professional development costs on the finance committee. Kalthoff is involved in Greek life and works as the house manager of the fraternity, Sigma Nu.
Kalthoff, a junior studying electrical engineering, said being a senator has allowed him to view student leadership at the University in "a new light."
"Understanding the workings of the USG and how it can impact the day-to-day lives of the students on our campus, allows our team to come in with past experience to expand upon and amplify the positive impact USG has in Tempe," Kalthoff stated.
Kelly is USGT's director of University affairs, in addition to serving as the academic excellence committee chair for her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and being a campus tour guide with Devil's Advocates.
"I am eager to have the opportunity to continue that amazing leadership and expand our executive tickets (sic) leadership to the areas of campus and student life USG has yet to touch," Kelly, a sophomore studying global studies, said in an email.
Meier serves as executive vice president of the W.P. Carey Business School Council and as the chapter president of her sorority, Alpha Phi. Meier is also a fellow for Barrett, The Honors College.
Meier, a junior studying business law, has no experience serving in USG, but has seen the impact of student organizations through her other involvements on campus.
"Fulfilling this role matters to me because ASU has given me so many great opportunities and I feel as though it is my responsibility to facilitate these same great opportunities to all students at ASU," Meier stated in an email.
Elections will take place in person outside the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and online over SunDevilSync on March 29 and 30. Election results will be announced on March 31.
Reach the reporter at awaiss@asu.edu and follow @WaissAlexis on Twitter.
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Alexis Waiss is an assignment editor and senior reporter, covering breaking news and writing long-form stories. Alexis worked on SP's politics desk for a year, where she reported on the Legislature, higher education policy, student government, the city of Tempe and stories highlighting social justice. She previously worked as a fellow for the Asian American Journalist Association's VOICES program.
