The Student Association’s assistant comptroller announced his candidacy for comptroller of the 58th Session.

Patrick Douglas, a junior accounting and finance major, said if elected, he hopes to encourage the Finance Board to take better advantage of student input and update the tier systems for student organizations.

He is currently running unopposed, with SA elections running from Nov. 11-14.

Douglas has been a part of the Finance Board since his freshman year, and credits his experience of working with Stephen DeSalvo, the current comptroller, as the reason for why he is running.

“He kind of put me under his wing, showed me (the job), in case I wanted to do it one day. It was one of those things where it was time,” he said.

While on the Finance Board, Douglas helped pass a bill which created the tier system for student organizations, consisting of four levels that set caps on how much money a student organization can get from SA.

As assistant comptroller, Douglas said he saw DeSalvo’s behind the scenes efforts, specifically regarding his work with the administration.

“There are a lot of things you don’t see until you step into his office,” he said.

If elected, Douglas said he wants to “change some of the kinks” and find a way to balance the organization in each tier to make sure there aren’t too many in the top or bottom tiers.

Douglas added that he wants the Finance Board to take advantage of student input to bring active change to the board.

“I can’t really help you until you tell me what you need to be helped with,” he said.

DeSalvo said Douglas has a good sense of what is to be expected in the position. He is a strong candidate, DeSalvo said, due to his SA experience and his knowledge of finances.

“I think he’s shown so far, at least from what I’ve seen, good character in terms of making good judgments,” DeSalvo said. “I hope he’d continue that as comptroller; I see no reason why that would change.”

–Staff writer Brett Samuels contributed reporting to this article

Published on November 6, 2013 at 12:17 am

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93