Director of Legislative Affairs: Garrison Moratto
Q: Tell us about you. What year are you in? What is your major? What clubs and organizations are you a part of on and off campus?
A: My name is Garrison Moratto. I am 20 years old, and I am a sophomore majoring in political science with a concentration in international relations. I am also honored to be a part of the Helen Louise Hawk Honors Program here on campus, and I am running for Director of Legislative Affairs.
Q: What are your plans for CSUB if you are elected? What changes would you like to make? How would you work to leave it better than you found it? Where do you see CSUB headed for the next year in terms of student life?
A: My goal in this campaign, and for my office should I be elected, is to enable every student on campus to say “my voice is heard”. Legislative Affairs is all about advocacy, reaching out to my fellow students to hear their concerns, ideas and challenges that they are facing so that we can begin a conversation on how best to craft a legislative agenda that I would then bring to political leaders in Sacramento and elsewhere. To that end, I will make this role as Director of Legislative Affairs as public and accessible as possible, not just during the election cycle, but year-round. I am promoting an email account I have set up called [email protected] that is dedicated to allowing students to contact me anytime with ideas, questions, concerns and suggestions. The response to this concept has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. My goal is to include every voice on campus in the discussion. I will take that input and work to lobby for issues that matter most to students, such as more affordable tuition and more generous grant structures that allow for a successful, diverse student population. I would also like to develop innovative opportunities for student engagement with elected officials. One such opportunity would be to bring more elected officials to our campus for open forums and discussion.
In terms of the outlook on student life in the coming year, I think people across Kern County are becoming more involved and passionate about our school, particularly the athletics program. I think this involvement was exemplified by the tremendous community support of the men’s basketball team as they defied the odds to become the first 8 seed in NIT history to go to the semifinals in New York. I would love to see that same kind of passion and optimism extend to all parts of our campus and programs.
Q: What made you take an interest in student government? Do you have any previous experience in student government? What concerns you about the CSUB student government?
A: I took an interest in student government because it is an amazing opportunity to help advance people of diverse backgrounds and achieve goals together we could not reach on our own. I served on student government during high school for the same reason. In addition, I have also served as a congressional district intern, and I currently intern for Kern County’s Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. These roles have given me the connections to local, state and even federal leaders necessary to be an effective advocate for our students.
I honestly don’t have any “concerns” about CSUB student government, just suggestions for improvement, especially on the issue of engagement. ASI leaders must always be seeking new ways of interacting and garnering input from all parts of the student body, not just during election season, but throughout the entire year.
Q: Why are you the best candidate for the job?
A: I feel I am the best candidate for the job because of a unique combination of experience and focus on student input. I am not running for this role to advance my own resume. I decided to pursue student government because making other students’ voices heard is my number one priority, and like I mentioned earlier, my previous internships have allowed me to personally know many of our locally elected officials like Assemblyman Vince Fong and Mayor Karen Goh. That kind of trust is valuable because it takes time to build. In fact, my candidacy for this role was endorsed by County Supervisor David Couch. Anyone who knows about Supervisor Couch knows that his focus is on community engagement and outreach. That’s my focus as well.
Q: Do you have any talents or interesting hobbies you engage in outside of school?
A: I am fascinated by soccer! I could watch it day and night (and often do). I look forward to every World Cup and every El Classico, and I am of the (humble) opinion that Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest player of our era (no offense to Messi).
On a more serious side, I also have been involved for years in nonprofit volunteerism to disadvantaged communities throughout Kern County, including gift drops to children with incarcerated parents and outreaches to the migrant workers in Shafter. There is no better feeling than knowing you positively impacted the life of someone in need.
Q: Anything else you would like to add about yourself?
A: I would simply add that I am an optimist. I believe very strongly that the future is good for our campus and for all of us as students. I am honored to be a part of this election, and I hope to be entrusted with your vote and your confidence for this role. I hope you will join me in the months ahead, sharing your ideas with me via the email I mentioned earlier, via Facebook (Garrison Moratto For Director of Legislative Affairs), or by having discussions in person. When we partner together to tackle our mutual challenges, we all succeed, and we can each say, “My voice is heard”.
