Presidential candidate Alex Esparza did not respond to requests for an interview and thus was not included in the Nexus’ endorsement process.

The Daily Nexus endorses third-year political science major E.J. Raad as the 2026-27 Associated Students President.

The Associated Students (A.S.) President is the primary representative of the UC Santa Barbara undergraduate student body. The president enacts executive orders, participates in University and A.S. committees, appoints chairs of A.S. entities and Boards, Committees and Units (BCU), and sets the strategic vision of A.S. for the academic year.

E.J. Raad is running on a platform of advocating for students at the administrative level and distributing student fees toward student services. Sherine John / Daily Nexus

The Nexus believes Raad’s tangible ideas regarding University improvements, strong public persona and prior A.S. executive experience best qualifies him for the position.

As the current External Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA), Raad believes he’s gained sufficient experience to “take that same level of advocacy” to the University level as president. He is running on a platform of advocating for students at the administrative level and distributing student fees toward student services.

As EVPLA, Raad spent the first half of the academic year lobbying against the Deltopia noise ordinance. While the fruits of his labor were unsuccessful in preventing the ordinance, the Nexus believes in his commitment to “fighting for students,” which he aims to continue by reinstating 24/7 Library hours and progressing toward UCSB becoming a sanctuary campus.

“There’s a level of an ability to represent students at a University level that’s just so much greater than what I’m doing currently, and I think I’m ready to take on that challenge,” Raad said. “I’ve gained the skills necessary for that.”

Raad is running against two other candidates, current Senator and third-year biology and political science double major Eemaan Wahidullah and fourth-year economics major Alex Esparza. Wahidullah is another viable candidate for the position — with similar ambitions of advocating for students using her pre-existing A.S. experience — however the Nexus believes Raad’s more focused vision may better benefit the student body. 

Esparza did not respond to requests for an interview from the Nexus. However, he is running on a platform of supporting student organizations and departments, refining BCU communication and improving the impact of A.S. services, according to the election ballot.

While there was a partial reinstatement of UCSB Library hours, Raad plans on negotiating with administration for a full reinstatement of it being open 24/7. Raad also highlighted his ambition to fight for undocumented students on campus, citing UCSB’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) chapter’s sanctuary campus petition, which would increase protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) activity on University grounds. Raad was the only executive candidate to mention the petition and its demands by name.

Through his “Save Deltopia” campaign, Raad has experience negotiating with local entities, which is integral to the presidential role. The Nexus would like to recognize that Wahidullah also has experience negotiating with administrators.

In order to secure UCSB as a sanctuary campus, Raad said it would have to be a system-wide effort in which representatives from all UC campuses lobbied the UC Office of the President. Raad hopes the next External Vice President for Statewide Affairs (EVPSA) will help him lobby for statewide efforts, as well as working with the next Student Advocate General (S.A.G.) to continue other methods of support for undocumented students.

The Nexus recognizes Wahidullah’s commitment to protecting undocumented and marginalized students as a whole, and her ties to student groups and activist coalitions as an important way of connecting to students. However, we would’ve liked to have seen more clear and tangible action plans to demonstrate this commitment.

Raad has experience as an executive and has served as an internal liaison for the Committee on Committees and as a research assistant for the Office of the Attorney General. The Nexus believes that Raad isn’t as connected with groups outside of A.S. and hopes his outreach makes up for his lack of personal experience within these groups.

Wahidullah’s two years of experience as senator and her commitments in volunteer work and cultural groups such as the Muslim Student Association show that she is well connected with UCSB’s campus culture and communities — especially considering that she is a Santa Barbara local. 

“I actually care about this community. They’re like my hearts, they’re my friends and they mean a lot to me. And I know that because of that, in my experience, I can definitely bring to the role a bit more passion as a president,” Wahidullah said.

However, this is outweighed by Raad’s concentrated goals for the University, as Wahidullah’s visions are more generalized and not grounded in specific plans. 

Raad also spoke about a “student fees for student services” plan that was mentioned in multiple executive endorsement interviews by the Nexus, which outlines reinvesting A.S. rollover funds into student services and campus business units. The Nexus believes this plan would be beneficial to students by eventually reducing student fees while expanding job opportunities.

According to Raad, there’s around $13.5 million in rollover fees. Raad believes this amount of rollover fees is “too large to ignore” and “unfair” to students as they are not getting their “return on investment.” He hopes to reinvest these funds into student services and on-campus businesses, which could generate A.S. revenue and eventually reduce the current $44.74 A.S. base fee that is charged to students.

Raad promised to  not increase the current A.S. base fee during his term, as he believes it’s inappropriate given the large amount of rollover funds. The Nexus believes this plan would be beneficial to students, given the high costs of higher education.

Raad is in full support of Isla Vista cityhood, which the Nexus believes is an idea worth exploring. He demonstrated an understanding of the process, such as requiring signatures to approve a Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) fiscal analysis to determine if cityhood is viable. Raad believes that cityhood will “solve a lot of the problems” in I.V. and plans to use his platform and collaborate with the next EVPLA to do so. 

According to Raad, cityhood would eliminate preexisting issues with Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP). By having an I.V. city council, and in turn its own police force, Raad believes students would have more autonomy over decisions such as the Deltopia noise ordinance, as well as promoting IVFP accountability. In regard to his approach towards the IVFP, Raad said keeping a cordial relationship with them is “very important” for student safety. 

As EVPLA, Raad served on the UC Police Department (UCPD) Chief of Police search committee, giving him familiarity with UCPD. While he was critical of UCPD’s bike path enforcement earlier in the year, he appreciated them for pulling back to extend bike path education and taking accountability. He also commended their formation of the UCPD outreach committee and their help in improving lighting by the lagoon, and he plans to continue working with them as president.

Wahidullah also plans to approach UCPD and IVFP with diligence and communication, citing strict enforcement as misaligning with their goals and student needs. She offered concrete ways to work with law enforcement to make UCSB a safer campus, such as installing more blue safety lights, as well as garnering more respect from UCPD to make them more receptive to student ideas. 

The Nexus admires Wahidullah’s commitment to working with police for a safer campus, as well as Raad’s commitment to I.V. cityhood as a potentially effective strategy to minimize excessive police enforcement, despite it being a time-consuming project that will not come to fruition in one executive term. We believe Wahidullah’s plan to enact incremental changes that will grow toward addressing bigger issues may be a better short-term solution than those presented by Raad, albeit lacking specific suggestions outside of additional blue lights.

Both candidates are running to succeed fourth-year global studies, Spanish and communication triple major Le Anh Metzger for A.S. President. Metzger, who has worked toward improving basic needs and harm reduction on campus, as well as holding the “Protect Your Peers” week to advocate for immigrant rights. Both candidates expressed equal interest in expanding upon her work, although Wahidullah expressed desire in advising the next Senate to write these projects into legislation to keep them long-term. 

In order to promote transparency with the student body, Raad emphasized his presence on social media by theorizing ways to break down complicated A.S. topics via digestible content. Throughout his term as EVPLA, Raad has consistently posted content on Instagram and TikTok that educates students on issues that may affect them. The Nexus believes that Raad’s forward-facing attitude makes him easily accessible to students, and we hope he continues this outreach if elected as president.

Wahidullah noted that the deficiency of transparency when it comes to A.S. may be due to a lack of knowledge and outreach. 

“I think I’ve seen a lot of communities [where] the people in the Association might not really be advocating specifically for what [those] students are looking for,” Wahidullah said. “I think because of that reason, they have disengaged.”

In order to effectively address student needs to increase A.S. participation, Wahidullah said she will continue to do what she’s “already doing” by actively communicating with the student body and creating workshops to engage students on how to make campus change via A.S. 

The Nexus believes in Wahidullah’s plans to reach out to communities to understand their needs, given the extensive list of legislation that she’s passed in the Senate including resolutions for the establishment of the Language Revitalization Grant Program and the Basic Needs Volunteer Engagement Program.

Both Wahidullah and Raad are more than viable candidates for the A.S. President position. However, the Nexus believes that Raad is the stronger candidate because of his specific action plan. While Wahidullah occasionally shared specific action plans, the Nexus believes her campaign feels more passive rather than proactive on specific issues.

Wahidullah heavily emphasized her involvement with campus outreach and addressing issues within the different parts of the community as reasons behind her decision to run for the role, which the Nexus deeply admires. However, Raad emphasized that he’s running for president because he believes he’s simply “the right person for the role,” which the Nexus agrees with due to his clearly outlined goals, relevant executive experience and front-facing personality.