Election race will be defined by four-year colleges

With the filing deadline for the USG presidential race set for this afternoon at 4 p.m., USG officers and individuals familiar with the candidates say they expect the election to be shaped principally by student concerns about the implementation of the four-year colleges.

"The issue's going to be, 'Which candidate do you trust more to be able to interact with the administration in a constructive way?' " one USG official said. "It's going be one of the largest changes for Princeton since coeducation. But at this point it's not like we can take a vote on whether to have it or not."

In sharp contrast to last year's elections, the officials said they don't expect concerns about grade deflation to factor into the debate as they did last year when Alex Lenahan '07, the current president, made it one of the key issues of his campaign. Concerns about grade deflation have also factored heavily into his presidency.

"That was something very tied to Alex, not necessarily the USG as a whole," one USG official said, speaking about grade deflation. "I don't necessarily see any candidate taking that issue up or really entering the debate."

Also in a break from last year's presidential election, which saw seven contenders seek the office, only two students are expected to turn in candidate statements before this afternoon's filing deadline: current USG vice president Rob Biederman '08 and junior class president Grant Gittlin '08.

For the vice presidential ticket, three students — Alec Williams '09, former presidential candidate Will Scharf '08 and Class of 2009 senator Josh Weinstein — are expected to run.

The individuals interviewed for this story were split on picking a frontrunner for the presidential race. All spoke on the condition of anonymity, with most saying they are friendly with the candidates and did not want to be seen as publicly taking sides in the races.

Whether the two presidential candidates will actually diverge on the residential colleges issue remains to be seen, though the individuals who commented for this article think the contenders' positions will be largely similar, despite the fact that Gittlin belongs to an eating club and Biederman does not.

"From what I've seen before, when you have a race with two people, the fringe positions will fall to the side, people will move to the center, and you're just going to look at, 'Which person do I think is better able to get things done?' " one USG official said.

Two observers said that Biederman's experience with the USG as vice president, especially in his role running senate meetings, will give him the edge insofar as how voters perceive which candidate will be able to get more done in the job.

"I think when people actually start to make the decision, and start to think, 'Who am I going to vote for?' the fact that [Biederman] has more experience in the USG is going to come into play," the USG official said.

But another observer warned against overestimating the power of incumbency, citing the 2004 race in which relative outsider Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06 beat out then-vice president Shaun Callaghan '06, albeit by a slim margin of 11 votes.

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"There are a lot of people who think that holding office in the USG makes them viable, and it's really not how things work," a supporter of Gittlin's said.

Some observers also see disparities in name recognition on campus. Biederman, they say, is known campus-wide for his work as vice president, which has included such popular projects as the recent bus trip to Yale, while Gittlin, as a class president, is more of an unknown to many underclassmen.

All the individuals interviewed for this article were quick to say that Gittlin will still be a strong candidate. One referred to "the structural advantage Gittlin has on Prospect [Avenue]."

"Ivy has traditionally been a feeder to the presidency, and Gittlin's draw filters down through the Bicker clubs and sign-ins in a way Biederman can't match," said a supporter of Gittlin's.

"Rob may win big among underclassmen, but Gittlin will dominate '08 and '07, and I'm not sure if Biederman's lead with the underclasses can overcome the structural advantage Gittlin has on Prospect."

Joseph, who served as president before Lenahan, was a member of Campus Club, before becoming independent. His predecessor, Matt Margolin '05, was a member of Ivy. Before Margolin, Pettus Randall '04 was a member of Cottage Club.

The Gittlin supporter also pointed to the candidate's popularity among juniors. "He's run uncontested for class president two years in a row."

Both Biederman and Gittlin, the observers agreed, will have to prove that their skill set is malleable enough to switch from their current jobs to the presidency.

"What Grant's worked on in the past is more sort of planning events and building class unity," said another USG official. "On the other hand, he's also been in a top executive position where you manage people and initiate things. Rob has worked on more types of things a USG president would be working on but hasn't been in that top executive-type position."

"Grant will have to make the case that he can make that transition and focus on these more policy type issues. Rob will probably have to make the case that he can individually initiate projects and manage people," the USG official added.

Everyone predicts an interesting race — and a less divisive one as well. Those consulted did say they expect to see fewer campaign violations this election cycle than last year, when candidates Jeremy Johnson '07 and Freddy Flaxman '07 were cited for multiple rules violations. Flaxman eventually withdrew from the race.

"I think both of the candidates are going to be very clean in what they're doing," said one USG official, citing his personal experience with both candidates. "I don't think they're interested in being negative or taking down posters or anything like that."

"Since it happened last year, everyone's going to be very careful that something like that doesn't happen again."