In Schine on Monday, a group of students wondered loudly, as they looked at the “Vote Now” page on MySlice, “What’s a Comptroller?” A lot of people wonder this. Simply put, the SA Comptroller is a gatekeeper for the Student Activity Fee, toward which all undergraduates contribute $203 as a part of tuition. This $2.8 million becomes your Block Party, your Caribfest, your Citrus TV station. There are a host of policies and necessary hoops to jump through for a student organization to gain access to these funds. The Comptroller is in charge of the process — the face of the system.

While all three official candidates are generally qualified to be Comptroller, James Franco has demonstrated the soft skills, passion and leadership necessary to be in charge of the $2.8 million that waits to be allocated to student organizations each year. He has the most firm understanding of the job, and has asked questions and made careful judgements over the course of his time as a Finance Board member that indicate an active mind that cares unquestionably about the student body with no bias in any direction.

If you’ve been listening, campaigns for SA office make the positions sound like colorful, glamorous jobs with a lot of suit jackets, political movement and policymaking. As a current inhabitant of this office, I can assure you readers that SA Comptroller has a lot more to do with careful, active listening and the quiet work done when nobody is there to see or cheer. While ideas about improvement in the process are important and worth discussing, the key is electing someone who RSOs, Finance Board members and administration will enjoy working with throughout the academic year. To me, James is that person without question or hesitation.

Managing money can be boring. This is why we often hire others to do it for us. This week, SU students will collectively make a hiring decision — I hope it is the right one.

Philip Kramer
Student Association Comptroller, 59th Session