For A.S. External Vice President of Local Affairs, the Nexus endorses Student Unity Now candidate Soumil Mehta for his knowledgeable grasp of local politics, his extensive experience on A.S. committees like A.S. BIKES and Environmental Affairs Board, and the genuine enthusiasm he has for acting as a liaison between his fellow students and the local government – oh, and did we mention he’s also just a really, really nice guy?

But underneath his sweet demeanor is a real fighter, and it’s that no-holds-barred persistence that ultimately won us over. Rather than enticing the students with glamorous but infeasible ideas such as Students’ Party candidate Jared Renfro’s pitch for an A.S. Pub or focusing on large, statewide issues irrelevant to the position as Student Action Coalition candidate Corina Garcia has done, Mehta had realistic expectations for the changes he could personally make as an A.S. executive officer as well as the knowledge, experience and drive to make those changes come about.