As the race for Athens County treasurer winds down, Libertarian Abe Alassaf and Democrat Bill Bias will focus on last-ditch efforts to gather votes on campus.
Although graduation is almost a month away for Alassaf, an Ohio University senior studying history, his main priority leading up to the election has been reaching out to students in an effort to increase his chances of winning.
He has used social media as a major tool to reach out to fellow students throughout his campaign, he said, adding that he and a few friends will be passing out fliers to passersby at high traffic-areas Uptown and on campus to catch last minute voters.
“I have a lot of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who support me,” Alassaf said. “It will just be a matter of whether or not they come out to vote.”
Though Alassaf is hopeful that last-minute campaigning will help his chances of winning more votes, Bias said as the race winds down, he is less focused on last-minute campaigning given his previous experience.
Bias has worked with in Athens city government for 22 years, including 18 years on Athens City Council.
“I think people have watched me over a lot of years,” Bias said. “We’ve balanced every budget, never had to go to the taxpayer and ask for a big tax increase, got the basic services delivered. I think people respect responsibility and I hope they give me one more shot at it.”
As a final effort, Bias said he might pass out fliers near Nelson Dining Hall on Tuesday.
“Believe it or not, most students couldn’t care less about who’s going to be treasurer,” Bias said. “Some people look at me with great disdain and others will be very gracious and take (the flyers). If you’re going to be a politician, you can’t worry about rejection.”
Despite Bias’s qualifications, Alassaf said anything can happen in the last stretch of the race.
"I feel competitive," Alassaf said. "I'm not going to be depressed if I don't win, but at the same time I don't think it's going to be a landslide. We'll have to wait and see what the voters decide."
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