Spencer Higgins Draft

On July 24^th some friends and acquaintances came up with this neat idea to draft Spencer Higgins into the City Council race of 2008. The first step was to create a Facebook group which was to be secret until it hit a certain amount of members. The enthusiasm among Higgin’s friends was undeniable as the group has now surpassed 120 people despite it being a secret group. I have had conversations with people who are enthused by this possible candidacy and with good reason.

Spencer Higgins is aware of the existence of the group but is not a member and does not have access to the group itself. This is after all a draft, and many of us hope to gently push Higgins into the race due to our support for his ideals and past works. Higgins will be interning in Washington DC for the Fall Quarter and so for the time being he will be researching City politics and communication with important people on the possibility of a run. Once he comes back in January he will be able to give a definitive yes or no on the question. But for the time being he is merely “testing the waters.” Any implication that it is beyond that would be inaccurate.

Spencer Higgins ran for ASUCD Senate in the Fall of 2004 as an Independent showing early interest in the ASUCD process. He successfully won a Senate seat under Student Focus in the Fall of 2005. Before becoming elected he was an Academic Affairs Commissioner and Senate intern. In the Winter of 2007 Spencer Higgins was a presidential candidate for ASUCD. He was at the same time a pro-Unitrans campaign worker. During his time at UC Davis Higgins was a Theta XI member and become the Philanthropy Chair. Higgins has held internships with Governor Schwarzenegger and will soon become an intern in Washington DC. There are probably other associations and activities that Higgins has been involved in that I am ignorant of, but I am certain that he has the governmental experience to quickly learn complex processes.

Chairing the draft is enthusiastic supporter Wenche Molenaar who used to be the ASUCD Gender and Sexuality Commission Chair and who now works for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. For the time being our goal is to get the message out on Higgin’s personality, intentions, and past activities. There will be a time when it will be appropriate to advance specific policy goals but not at this particular point. It should be noted that I have my own opinions and Higgins has his own. We are separate individuals with separate opinions on the issues. I can comment on the draft and what I personally think but I only speak for myself.

If Higgins does run and that’s a big IF he would be one of the youngest candidates if not the youngest candidate to run for City Council. He would also be a student during this time which means he would have daily interaction with students who may have concerns about their city. We can take the policy questions people have and come up with answers. So, if you happen to get an invite please join the group and then invite your friends into the group as well. This could be a new revolutionary beginning to how students interact with the city.