Campaign season for the University's student government elections is winding down, meaning that voting time is almost here.
With just one ticket on the ballot, the Undergraduate Student Government Downtown's leadership for the 2025-26 school year is presumed confirmed. Laura Doyle, Rei Todoco and Katie Ritchie are the future of the Downtown Phoenix campus.
Laura Doyle
Doyle, a junior studying public service and public policy, is running for USG-D president to engage students in the Downtown Phoenix campus and ensure safety is a priority.
"I'm really excited to be working with a campus like downtown," Doyle said. "I'm excited to still be here for my fourth year, working on everything."
Doyle has been involved in student government since Spring 2023, when she joined as a senator representing the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. In the past school year, Doyle served as senate president for the Downtown Phoenix campus.
"I love the community, I love meeting people," Doyle said. "I just ended up staying in it this whole time. I can't imagine ever leaving it."
Doyle said being senate president throughout the 2024-25 school year helped her gain more knowledge of legislation and bylaws. She also said it taught her leadership skills, as she oversaw an internal team of 22 people.
"I love being senate president, and I'd love being in that role again if I wasn't to get president," Doyle said. "I just really want to take a step up, because I feel like I'm ready for it."
Doyle said a main part of her platform is appropriating funds from the USG-D budget to more student organizations, creating beneficial programs out of student dollars.
"USG is funded by tuition, its student dollars," Doyle said. "If there's any way to give back directly to the students who fund us, I think that's so important."
In addition to funding, Doyle said she wants to work on making students feel more connected to the downtown University community.
"My hope is people feel like downtown isn't separated from the main campus," Doyle said.
Doyle said she plans to do this by promoting more rideshare services to assist students in their commute to Tempe, along with introducing Greek life earlier on in the fall semester.
"Increasing that community feel and making it feel more like a college campus … for students to stay downtown and want to be like, 'Downtown is my campus,'" Doyle said. "That would be a dream if anyone felt that way about it after I became president."
Despite Doyle running unopposed this election season, she is still campaigning for the opportunity to introduce herself and her policies to the student body.
"I still want them to at least know me, and they can make that decision when it comes day of voting," Doyle said. "They can either vote me or choose abstain and not vote, so they still have a voice in it either way."
Rei Tedoco
Rei Tedoco is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. She is currently running to be the vice president of services.
Tedoco has been involved with student government since her first year at the University. She has been a senator for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and currently serves as the director of inclusive excellence.
Tedoco believes that service is everywhere. She said she believes in working with the University to better the lives of students. She especially wants to focus on students in the Downtown Phoenix campus and making sure they're not only being seen, but also heard.
A focal aspect of Tedoco's campaign is civic engagement.
"Civic engagement on campus, it isn't just politics," Tedoco said. "It's being informed in your community, and then continuing Sun Devil pride and tradition. I think that's something we're very passionate about."
As for the 2025-26 school year, Tedoco said there are still a lot of changes to be implemented in the Downtown Phoenix campus. Her personal goal is to uplift the multicultural community space, which is meant to provide underserved students with a place of support.
She also wants to provide more career opportunities and find different ways to connect with first-generation students.
"I am hoping that we can continue to grow on this downtown campus, continue to collaborate and make a name for ourselves," Tedoco said.
Katie Ritchie
Katie Ritchie, a sophomore studying public policy and economics, is running for vice president of policy to help the Downtown Phoenix campus become more cohesive.
Ritchie began her journey in student government in August 2023 when she was sworn in as a senator representing Barrett, The Honors College.
She currently serves as the director of government affairs and sustainability, which is housed under the policy department.
"Being able to take on those initiatives has really inspired me to understand what policies and procedures directly impact us as downtown students the most," Ritchie said. "And how as a policy department, we can work together to create the best environment for our students."
When it comes to the Downtown Phoenix campus, like those on her ticket, Ritchie prioritizes civic engagement — not only in voter turnout, but also seeing the students on campus foster deeper connections.
"Collaboration is just the biggest thing," Ritchie said. "I would hope that we all are able to reach across the different projects that we're working on, and collaborate and work together as a unit to reach students."
Ritchie also wants to make sure students feel connected to the Tempe campus. To do this, she said she wants to invite students from downtown Phoenix to central events that happen on the main campus.
"That would be my biggest approach going into next year," Ritchie said. "How can we build that community through programming and finding ways to meet students where they are?"
Read more about their platform here.
Edited by George Headley, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporters at croblesr@asu.edu and ehprest1@asu.edu and follow @rroblescristina and @ellis_reports on X.
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Ellis is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Arizona PBS and Blaze Radio.
