Viewpoint: Beware of the ‘free pizza’ candidate

Courtney Zehring

Here’s the blunt truth behind why the “free Friday pizza” candidate always disappoints:

Everyone remembers the candidates running for student body president who would say, "If elected, I will provide free pizza every Friday to the whole class." And everyone would cheer, they would get elected, and the pizza would never materialize.

Sounds familiar when observing our local and federal elections these days. They’re selling fantasy, not leadership.

The “free pizza” promise is the student government version of empty populism—it sounds great, everyone cheers, and no one stops to ask who’s paying for it or how it’s supposed to happen. Once elected, the candidate runs into the boring but real world of budgets, rules, and logistics. They realize they don’t control cafeteria contracts, they can’t divert club funds for pizza, and the administration isn’t about to let them turn Fridays into grease-fueled carnivals.

The “free pizza candidate” always disappoints because their platform isn’t about solving problems—it’s about buying attention. They don’t want to lead; they want to be liked. And that kind of leadership—whether in a student council or city council —crumbles as soon as the oven cools.

I've been burned enough this year by the "free pizza candidates." I am going to vote for the candidates who do the work: Mike Nugent, Jennifer Savage, Betsy Craske, and Chris Foster. Because with them in office, maybe we will be able to afford to buy our own pizza.