Bijan Ahmadian has come under criticism from a number of student politicians for being too close to the administration. But when it comes to AMS Council, he actually has broad support.

In a survey done by UBC Insiders Wednesday night, 14 councilors ranked Ahmadian ahead of fellow presidential candidate Natalie Swift, while 13 ranked Swift ahead of Ahmadian.

To appeal to students, both candidates tout their experience: Ahmadian as a member of the BoG, Swift as a former student union president. Both say they want to rebuild relationships with UBC, the provincial government and student council.

But the most vocal of AMS politicians generally tend to be in Swift’s camp—and it has as much to do with her as it does with Ahmadian.

“I think that Natalie is the person who is most able to unite the AMS after a year of divisive and destructive policies, and I think that Bijan is somewhat more of a divisive figure on campus,” said Arts Councilor Matthew Naylor.

“In Bijan’s case, the fact he’s been around for a while has precipitated an image of being a divisive figure, and in that case, perception is reality.”
The perception for many is that he is too close to the university administration, a charge he disagrees with.

“It does hold water with some people, that’s why it’s there, obviously…but there are examples where I’ve pushed back, and pushed back quite heavily against the university because it was better for students,” Ahmadian said.

Swift’s endorsement list is impressive. Among her supporters are 2008/2009 President Michael Duncan, 2007/2008 President Jeff Friedrich, and well-respected former BoG member Darren Peets. The Friends of the Farm endorsed Swift yesterday.

For his part, Ahmadian doesn’t focus on endorsements on his website. A video entitled “Why Bijan?” shows Senate Vice-Chair Geoff Costeloe and former VP Academic Alex Lougheed discussing Ahmadian in a positive light. Costeloe, however, has since said he has not endorsed any candidate, while Lougheed is actually supporting Swift in the race and has asked Ahmadian to take down the footage of him—a request Ahmadian has refused.

“While his heart may be in the right place, he is close and too on board with the university’s approach. The AMS and UBC don’t always have to work against each other. But the AMS should not be taking policy from the university and then just forwarding it on and approving it,” Lougheed said.

It may be why Ahmadian told The Ubyssey, “I see myself here as the underdog, the one that really needs to work to get students who don’t usually vote and are commuter students to vote for me.”

Ahmadian brushes off criticisms from student politicians. “Circumstances are what they are. I don’t reach out to typical AMS hacks, but people who care about this campus, and have put their confidence in me.”

Swift sees Council support differently. “Ultimately, what’s Council supposed to represent? I think that says a lot. If AMS Council is supposed to represent students, and councilors who represent their students constantly say ‘you’re going to want to vote Natalie,” then that has some weight for it.”

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