Class Cabinet Elections will be this Tuesday, May, 2nd in the auditorium. Each class will be led by their respective teacher to the auditorium to hear speeches and vote.
Juniors – last 20 min of 6th period, 11:20 to 11:41
Sophomores- last 20 min of 7th period, 1:30 to 1:53
Freshman- first 20 min of 8th period, 1:58 to 2:19
Please be in your seats by the start time. There will be a VoIP 5 minutes before the start time as a reminder to each class to head to the auditorium. Below we asked candidates to tell us about their campaign to allow students to know them better and what they intend to do.

Students running for Senior Class President
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Xander Barlett and Alvin Chan
“I am running because I believe alongside my co-president, Alvin Chan, we actually have a shot at finally changing things. Although not the most popular candidate, my partner has more experience than anyone else running. He’s surveyed hundreds of students and negotiated with school districts. I think the class deserves someone who will represent them and then act. I’ve been in multiple clubs; I’ve personally heard the views of dozens of students; with our public speaking and leadership experience, I honestly believe we can make Cleveland heard.
Realistically, we want to start with achievable goals. We want to survey the student body on new issues as they arise and bring what we observe to the administration; we believe this will increase our transparency with the district. We want to be a voice for the voiceless, the underrepresented groups that may need the most support. This will also allow us to make better decisions on fundraisers and school dances that reflect what people want. Being more optimistic, we want to put Cleveland higher on the renovation list. We want mirrors in the bathrooms, locks on the stalls, better internet, and more funding for STEM, athletics, and art. Finally, although mostly symbolic, we want to represent progressive change. We will promote solutions to systemic racism, gun violence, sexual assault, climate change, and houselessness. Above all, we intend to listen and do our best to act.
I have already mentioned quite a few issues, and the larger they are the harder anyone like us could realistically solve it. That being said, the number one most solvable issue right now is a lack of transparency and representation of students. We will implement routine surveys in class and make our cabinet more accessible than any previous cabinet. Everything from academics, to sports, to music and theater, to school dances will be open to input. This is a first step, a realistic step, towards a better future for Cleveland High School. Thanks for the opportunity to make a statement.”
[Xander also attached a Google form to stay in touch with voters, saying “It would benefit the student body to be able to have a more accessible cabinet.”]
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Frances Springgate and Adelaide Bracewell-Stokes
“My running mate and I made the decision to run because we’ve been participating in class cabinet as PR representatives since freshman year, and believe that we are highly qualified for the job. We’ve learned how student government works here at Cleveland, fostered our leadership skills (in addition to our leadership positions in theater and choir), and we care a lot about making sure our senior year is the best it can be!
If we win, we plan to improve student input in cabinet decisions and outreach to the greater Portland community. We will implement a google form and monthly student forum for members of the class to bring concerns and ideas to the cabinet, which we will consider when planning traditions like Prom and senior sunrise/sunset, as well as planning new events for class unity like we did with the movie night this year. We also plan to improve senior participation in CHS Gives Back and donate a percentage of ticket sales from Prom to a local non-profit. Overall, we want to encourage a greater sense of community and enthusiasm for our class, and make sure everyone’s voice feels heard.
If we win, we plan to improve student input in cabinet decisions and outreach to the greater Portland community. We will implement a google form and monthly student forum for members of the class to bring concerns and ideas to the cabinet, which we will consider when planning traditions like Prom and senior sunrise/sunset, as well as planning new events for class unity like we did with the movie night this year. We also plan to improve senior participation in CHS Gives Back and donate a percentage of ticket sales from Prom to a local non-profit. Overall, we want to encourage a greater sense of community and enthusiasm for our class, and make sure everyone’s voice feels heard.”
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Brynn Johnson and Xanthe Rollins
“We want to make senior year fun for everyone. We’re hoping to have more class events that are well attended, and make prom and graduation events to remember. We also want to improve the school environment and community to stop racism and antisemitism here at Cleveland.
We intend to plan more unique class events and improve previously liked class events. We will take input from all class members on important decisions and events through surveys and cabinet meetings.
Student input and opinions are not listened to. Most students feel they have no voice and little support from the Cleveland community. We intend to change that by listening to students and improving school spirit so everyone has a place and voice.”
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Stella Tinker and Alice Bokman
We did not receive a statement from Tinker and Bokman.
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Students running for Junior Class President
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Ethan Daley
“Ethan Daley is running for president because he loves green and yellow, classic warrior values like Grover from Sesame Street, Sean Murray and every bathroom in the school be inexplicably closed. Ethan has grown up with these old fashioned values and is proud to be running.
Ethan Daley thinks the biggest problem facing Cleveland right now is ‘um… how do you put this, people laying waste on the floor of the east wing,’ Ethan plans to fix this by banning fecal matter from touching the floors, however he realizes that position may be controversial.
(All messages are brought to you by friends of Ethan Daley organization and are not representations of his actual beliefs)”
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Josh Pontefract
We did not receive a statement from Pontefract.
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Alex Vennebush
“My name is Alex Vennebush, and I’m running for junior class president. I’m running because I can bring leadership and teamwork skills to the class cabinet that will be very valuable to be successful next year. I will listen to the class and make my priorities align with theirs. The biggest issue facing our school right now is a lack of community and engagement. One plan I have to fix this issue is community-building events, like the movie night that the current junior class did a few weeks ago.”
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Alabaster Richard
We did not receive a statement from Richard.
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Students running for Sophomore Class President
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Jack Maloney
“Ever since originally attending Cleveland I have been extremely fond of participating within the CHS community. I’ve made friends, memories, hobbies, and so much more. I’ve become especially intrigued with school politics and community which is why I’ve been a member of the Leadership Class this past year. With the announcement of student council cabinet positions I saw this as an opportunity to further increase my amount of community involvement and how I can leave a positive impact on my class and future classes to come.
If elected as the Sophomore Class President, I will assure financial justice for our school’s underfunded programs (especially our electives) and amenities (such as the bathrooms) by conducting community driven fundraisers, with help from our Leadership Team.
Our school’s biggest issue is in regards to Cleveland’s funding. We are expected to lose multiple staff members next year due to unfortunate financial cuts which directly hinders the funding of all CHS departments, especially the educational/elective ones. On top of this, Cleveland is already familiar with its underfunded departments. To no surprise, all students are negatively impacted by these disparity. I believe the best way to alleviate these financial burdens is to involve student and staff members with fundraisers, or events alike. This way we both improve Cleveland’s income and nurture a community driven campus. As one who is actively a part of the Leadership Class, I have had a lot of experience with organizing these events. In combination with this and my ability to effectively communicate and persist, I believe that I would prove to be beyond efficient as a leader in regards to this vision.”
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Eliza Raymond
“In the beginning of the school year, I signed up for the freshman cabinet on a whim, and then ended up on executive council as a freshman representative. I absolutely loved learning about the inner workings of the school, and sharing my ideas throughout meetings. So when the option came to run for president, I immediately took it, and I’ve been really enjoying it so far!
While there’s not as much power in the position as one may think, there are a few things I’m hoping to achieve. My simplest goal is to create more entertaining spirit weeks. There wasn’t much participation on days like Neon Day, but we had a lot of fun on “anything but a backpack day,” so I’m planning on drawing inspiration from that. My more important goal is to plan more fundraisers, with the one on the top of my mind being for P:EAR, a mentoring program that helps houseless youth. P:EAR provides job training and opportunities, pregnancy and parenting support, and education and meals to houseless youth in Portland. Another wonderful program I hope to fundraise for is Urban Gleaners, a program that supplies fresh food that would otherwise be thrown away to low income housing communities.
My biggest issue within Cleveland was, at the beginning of the year, the shorter lunch, an annoyance that many others shared. Unfortunately, that is a problem that cannot be solved unless we want to add time onto the end of day for it. So as of now, I see no looming problem within the building besides the more trivial ones, such as cleanliness, or the fact that the ceilings are breaking. Maybe my biggest problem is just the crowded hallways. But instead of focusing on just one problem that I think is the most relevant, I’m planning on asking students what they think, and deciding what to do accordingly. Whatever is disliked the most widely is what will end up at the top of my list.”
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Robb Low
“I am running for class president because I want to work on being a good leader. I am also running because I want to be more invested in the happenings of CHS. I intend to do every possible thing under my control to make CHS better, and to make the Sophomore class the best class in the school.
I think the biggest issue right now is that people are campaigning and saying that they will fix this, and they will fix that, when, in fact, they do not have any control over those things, and are handing you empty promises so that you vote for them. I say we vote for the honest ones, who say ´´I do not have any control over the important things, but I will plan the best fundraisers, and the best parties, and I will make the Sophomore class win in the VS. Assembly this year.´´ We should vote for the honest, and that is exactly how I am going to fix this pressing issue.”
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Holland McMahon
“I’m running for class president because I’ve seen issues with people views about the school, I also see huge issues within our school for representation and BIPOC students having a voice. If I win I want to create opportunities for student voices in side the school and within the PPS district. I also intend to be efficient when raising funds that can go towards community building activities. I want to make sure all students feel represented in our school and like they can have a person to come and talk to.
A huge issue I see within our community is the pride in it. Students feel not appreciated by there teachers and like they don’t have a voice in there learning and classroom environments. I think BIPOC students don’t have a big enough voice and people feel underrepresented at a Cleveland and district level. As President I will create opportunities for students and advocate for them to make them proud of the community we are in.”
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Karina Lee
We did not receive a statement from Lee.