Three to compete for SRC presidency

WORDS BY JOSHUA WOOLLER

Three students will compete for the position of SRC president. Imogen Grant (Grassroots), Bella Pytka (SLS) and Brendan Ma (‘Libdependent‘) will be held out as the presidential candidates of three different tickets.
 
Pulp understands that USyd’s three Labor factions (SLS, NLS and Unity) have agreed to terms, and will form a united Labor ticket. This comes after the 2016 election, in which the Labor factions were divided and supported different presidential candidates. It is believed that Unity had considered running their own candidate, before opting to support current SRC general-secretary Pytka (SLS) for president because they were unable to find a suitable option.
 
The broad far-left of campus will be represented by SRC women’s officer Imogen Grant (Grassroots). While there have been rumours that Grassroots and the Socialist Alternative would work together, Grant denied a formal deal of any nature.
 
Finally, Commerce/Law student Brendan Ma will contest the election officially as an independent, despite being a member of the Young Liberals. Ma claims that “you can have your own personal political beliefs but SRC Presidents are here to represent students, not their factions or parties. I‘m running to serve all students.“ The ticket under the name ‘VISION’ will hope to the replicate the success of the ‘IGNITE for SRC‘ campaign of 2016, as well as Jacob Masina’s successful USU campaign earlier this year. Brendan Ma told Pulp that while he considered himself the “underdog” in the race he “was proud to stand and fight for student services, an accountable SRC and be a President that always serves students.“
 
Pulp sought comment from both Pytka and Grant about the likelihood that the two tickets would preference each other, potentially locking out Ma from the presidency. Pytka told Pulpthat the Labor bloc will “definitely be directing preferences that way”. Grant also told Pulp that her ticket would be looking to make a preference deal with the Labor bloc. Should the preference deal be successful, Ma told Pulp that it would be evidence of the “stupol establishment trying to stop real leadership in the SRC.”