2011 Executive Board

Election

The Cornell Dems are going to be having our last meeting of the semester tomorrow at 5PM in McGraw 165. On the agenda are three special elections for open Cornell Democrats' Executive Board Positions: Vice President, Director of Public Relations, and Speakers Chair. At the bottom of this email you can find statements for everyone who has declared their candidacy. If you did not send me a statement, you can still run by having someone nominate you from the floor. We will start tomorrow with the election for Vice President, and end with Speakers Chair.

The meeting will also come with some free food to make the whole process more enjoyable.

Important Information

The format for each election is as follows:

• 2-3 minute speech from each candidate
• 1-3 questions form the audience that each candidate will answer
• Candidates will leave the room for a brief moderated discussion
• Voting will take place by secret ballot. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote the top two vote getters will answer one or two more questions and there will be another ballot.
• Candidates who are unsuccessful can drop down to run for other races.
• You can be nominated from the floor.

Candidates

VICE PRESIDENT

Tony Montgomery

To my fellow progressive pugilists and purveyors of political punditry,

I am hereby announcing my candidacy for the office of Vice President of the Cornell Democrats for the spring semester of the 2010-2011 school year. I could go on at length about cliché traits like leadership, courage, respect, tact, or whatever it is that tickles your particular fancy; but the proof is in the pudding. You’ve seen me at every meeting, you’ve seen me at every Drinking Liberally, you’ve seen me in Scranton, you’ve seen me in DC, you’ve seen me on the trail for Arcuri and Mackesey, and if you voted at Alice Cook house on Election Day between 7 AM and 9 PM then you probably saw me there too – unless I had taken a break for lunch, of course. I don’t need to talk about my personal qualities, because those of you that involved with the club are already fully aware of what it is that I bring to the table.

Since campaign season is over, I think that it is of paramount importance that we increase our visibility and presence at Cornell in order to build a larger coalition of interested parties for the upcoming 2012 election. We must continue to reach out to other progressive groups and causes on campus while simultaneously expanding upon our social reputation and standing within the non-fraternity elements of the Cornell community. I would also like to see the Cornell Democrats blog arise from the ashes, as it has been rather dormant for some time now.

If you didn’t know already, I’m currently the Secretary; and as such I have kept a close eye on all of the happenings within the organization over the course of the past semester. I do earnestly hope that you will support me in my bid for the position of Vice President, and together we will be able to begin ushering Cornell politics into a new paradigm of increased understanding – or something to that effect.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Sam Moss

I am declaring my candidacy for Director of Public Relations for Cornell University College Democrats. As a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, Region Chair of College Democrats of New York, and an active participant in Cornell Democrats since my arrival at the University, I aspire to become the organization’s Director of Public Relations so as to improve it.

In the capacity of Director of Public Relations I will have numerous goals. To stimulate campus intellectual discourse from a Democratic perspective, I will work alongside the Speaker’s Chair to ensure national leaders are brought to Cornell. To link Cornell’s many liberal student groups, I will secure a spot in The Progressive for an article of Cornell Democrats’. Further, I will establish a biweekly newsletter for the member of Cornell Democrats, so that they will be well informed of how to become involved and contribute to Democratic efforts. I will also build on Cornell Democrats’ tradition of cultivating close-knit relationships with local Party officials and members.

I hope to have your support in my bid for Director of Public Relations. Together, you and I can build a stronger, better, Cornell Democrats. I encourage you to write me with questions or comments at sem264@cornell.edu.

Thanks!

Ranga Kanthadai

My name is Ranga Kanthadai and I would like to run for the position of Director of Public Relations. The Public Relations Director has two key duties according to the Democrat's constitution. He must Manage efforts to publicize group meetings and activities and Oversee relevant public relations duties. I am currently involved in a lot of on-campus opportunities, ranging from my dance team, Cornell Big Red Raas, to being on the ILR student government exec board. Thus, multitasking is one of the key characteristics I have developed over the past semester. I can definitely use my networking capabilities to bring in a more diverse and well-rounded group of individuals to help out the Dems in their future endeavors. I know for one we need more drivers and rides to places, and I can definitely fix that by contacting upperclassman that I know who would love to lend a hand to the Democrats. Also, I will maintain communication between the exec board to make sure everyone knows what they are doing, and personally oversee all phone-banking activities. I ensure that the Daily Sun will also publicize our activities since I have friends there as well too. Overall, I Know my networking ability will definitely come in handy as PR director. I have gotten to know most of the members through the DC trip, phonebanking, and other activities, and I know there's more to come! Thank you.

SPEAKERS CHAIR

Max Schechter

I am running for a position on the Cornell Democrats eboard because in the last semester I have seen what a great organization Cornell Dems is and I want to do what I can to contribute to and grow the group. Already I have gone beyond just showing up at meetings to attending planning meetings weekly, doorknocking on canvassing trips, and going on the trip to D.C. Before Cornell I interned on my congressman's reelection campaign.I also served as a page in the Maryland State Senate.

if speakers chair: One of the things I have enjoyed most about the meetings so far is the speakers however, I think we could do even better in who we get to talk and I am glad we are dedicating a whole post on the eboard to the job. I would not feel awkward or shy in trying to get any level of democratic speaker to come to the meetings.

Andrew Key

Hey everybody, my name is Andrew Key and I am a freshman from ILR looking to be the first Speaker's Chair. As you may know, the end of the election cycle will mark a major change, for the time being, for how the College Democrats conducts itself. I have been working on this transition all semester by being a regular member to the Planning Board meetings. In doing so, I was able to make the things like the DC Trip and Professor Adler's presentation (as he made a point to note) possible. Things like this are a major portion of the future of your College Democrats experience for the next few months (in addition to staples like Drinking Liberally). If you want to continue to have these opportunities, get a chance to meet a celebrity like Mark Ruffalo, vote for the guy with the experience in making these kinds of things happen. Vote for me, Andrew Key. Thank you.