The Daily Forty-Niner will be featuring profiles of ASI presidential candidates Christopher Chavez (Monday), Avis Atkins (Tuesday), Ricardo Linarez (Wednesday) and Raul Preciado (Thursday). The Daily Forty-Niner will also publish an ASI election guide on Monday, April 13.
 

Ricardo Linarez

ASI presidential candidate Linarez hopes to foster ‘easier access’ between politicians and CSULB.

With no previous Associated Students Inc. experience under his belt, Ricardo Linarez can be seen as the underdog of the 2009-2010 ASI presidential race.

Linarez said he believes that never participating in ASI will not hurt his chances to be elected president next week. He said that if anything it will benefit him, allowing him to relate ASI back to the student population.

Linarez is a 33-year-old Cal State Long Beach junior majoring in communication studies and minoring in political science. He hopes to one day become a lawyer and give back to his Long Beach neighborhood by focusing his practice on family and immigration law.

In high school, Linarez was a member of his freshman and senior student council as well as a Junior Naval Reserves Officer Training for all four years. After graduating, he served eight years in the Marine Corps and returned to college when he was 30.

When Linarez transferred to CSULB, he wanted to join a student-run Democrat organization. Since there was no such group at the time, Linarez founded the on-campus organization Long Beach College Democrats and currently serves as its president.

With a track record of more than 10 years of community involvement — ranging from the Community Partners Council, which deals with health concerns in Long Beach, to the League of United Latin American Citizens — Linarez desires to take these outside experiences to further develop a sense of community at CSULB.

Linarez plans to build a stronger CSULB community by holding town hall-style meetings where students would be informed about what ASI is doing and can ask questions and voice concerns or opinions.

If he is elected, Linarez said he hopes to build coalitions between administrators, students, community members and local politicians, like California State Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal, to helpprevent any further budget cuts.

“I feel I have easier access to [politicians] at a federal level,” Linarez said about his prior experience working with local politicians who have been elected to the state and federal levels. 

As an assistant to Valerie Bordeaux, the University Outreach and School Relations director, Linarez has seen the impact of the recent budget cuts made in Sacramento.

“It’s hard when we have to tell students, ‘No, you can’t come [to CSULB],'” Linarez said in regards to the recent budget induced enrollment limitations. 

He said he voted “no” in the Beach Legacy Referendum because it was not clear where the money was going, and not because he did not want to fund the athletic department.

“When it comes to money, I want to make sure every dollar is accounted for,” Linarez said.

According to Linarez , his love for people, education, Long Beach and his sense of community motivate him to pursue the ASI presidency.

“I am asking to represent [the students], the spirit of our school and the pride of being a Long Beach 49er,” Linarez said.

Major/Minor: Senior Communication Studies/Political Science
Current/Previous ASI positions: None
High School Government Positions: Member of freshman and senior council at Lakewood High School
GPA: 3.0 overall, transferred from LBCC with 3.3
On-/Off-Campus Organizations: President of Long Beach College Democrats, Community Partners Council

ASI elections will take place from April 13 to April 15.

Other ASI presidential candidate profiles:

Christopher Chavez

Avis Atkins

Raul Preciado