Serna backs up his tough talk when it’s convenient

Editor,

I want to address an issue of concern I have with the upcoming ASUNM election. I have serious concerns about a group of “people” who are running for office. This group is The People slate.

I voted for The People slate’s candidates last fall. I was promised a platform of diversity, equality and accountability. Each of the candidates running won a spot on the ASUNM Senate. However, I am still waiting to see any of the promises that they made kept.

Recently, I attended the debate sponsored by the Pre-Law Association. At this event, The People slate’s presidential candidate, Tim Serna, made it a point to emphasize the importance of accountability.

He said, “My big thing is accountability. If you are doing something wrong, I am going to hold you accountable for it. As a representative to the Board of Regents, if I hear of something they are doing wrong, I am going to call them on it. That’s how I’ve operated on senate and that’s what I’ll continue to do as ASUNM President.”

I’ve done some extensive research the past two weeks. You know what I discovered? You, Serna, are not living up to your promise to the UNM community you made in the three months in which you’ve been a senator, specifically with accountability. Speaking of which, how does three months make you qualified to lead the 23,000-plus students at UNM?

Why aren’t you calling the two senators on ASUNM who definitely are not doing their jobs? I discovered that, because these senators are not doing their jobs, several UNM student organizations, including two that I belong to, lost out on nearly $10,000 in the spring budget process. Then I discovered that both of these senators are not attending their mandatory office hours.

I asked myself why Serna, whom I elected to hold my representatives accountable for their actions, did not call these senators on a “job not done.”

You know what my answer was? Because the people who are not doing their jobs are candidates who ran with Serna and the rest of The People slate last fall. They’re the same people who claimed they were running to make a difference at UNM by changing the way that ASUNM serves the students. Obviously, Serna, you think accountability is important only when it’s convenient for you. This disgusts me.

If The People is the change UNM student organizations need, count us out. I’m not going to make the same mistake I did last year by wasting my vote on any candidate from The People.

I am voting for Andrea Cook, Steve Aguilar and the rest of The Connection slate.

They have proven to me that there are people on the Senate now who do make a difference and who do work hard for the students at UNM, no matter what propaganda you may spread about them.

It is unfortunate it took me a semester to find this out.

--Luis Sierra

UNM student