The 2026 Cate Presidential Election: Who Ran and Who Won

By Paloma Rudnicki '27

Let us Karry your voice! Any Means Necessary. Can We Be Your HIROEZ? Slogans and buzzwords have been thrown around in conversation, plastered on posters all over campus, and flashed in fancy fonts across the screen in assembly, but the Cate student body presidential elections have officially commenced. Although the winners have been revealed, read this to get to know all the candidates who ran.

Aydin Barry and Tori Kim

Vote Karry! Not for Karry Tan ‘27, but for Tori Kim and Aydin Barry. When asked why they wanted to run for president (Aydin) and vice-president (Tori), they pointed to their passion for the school and their desire to make a difference in the community. The duo has worked together for about a year as the Class of 2027 senators, and they believed their experience in Senate was one of their biggest strengths as candidates. Tori pointed out, “I feel like we both see very concrete ways in which we could make an impact within the capacity of president and vice-president. We've been working together for a while, and I feel like we know how to get things done.” Aydin agreed, saying, “I feel like there's a bit of a chemistry aspect. There's obviously really qualified candidates, but there's a lot of limitations on what we can do, and we've run into them a lot [as senators].” They both began using their Senate connections to discuss potential policy changes and campaign promises with faculty, hoping to have run on “the small stuff that actually makes a difference,” as Aydin explained. And there is a lot of “small stuff” they already had in the works. There are the things they wanted to bring back: advisory brunches, the Game of the Week, chill off-campus events. There are also the things they wanted to improve: school spirit through sports games, student-faculty communications, and making Catch-Up weekends “real.” And the new: trips to the Santa Barbara Bowl, whole-school beach/pool parties, and a vending machine. While they couldn’t explicitly make deals with faculty, they started conversations with Ms. Lockett, Ms. Hansen, and Ms. Gerlach to have more concrete campaign promises and vet their ideas even before running.

David Alvarez and Kevin Salmerón

Any Means Necessary (AMN) is the slogan that presidential candidate David and vice-presidential candidate Kevin decided to run under. They have worked together in various ways throughout their time at Cate, as well as having been close friends all three years. They wrote, “We have a genuine friendship where we both push each other to be the best versions of ourselves…We aren’t just running together because it's strategic.” Their choice to run together reflected their actions towards the biggest thing on campus they want to change: the separation between grades and sense of hierarchy. The two pushed for a “judgment-free campus” where people could “express their true feelings,” and where, no matter their grade level, “everyone across campus feels equal,” because “community only works when we uplift one another.” To achieve this, they planned on uplifting school spirit through events like fashion shows (modeled after lip-sync), water balloon fights, faculty v. students dodgeball, Dorm Olympics, and more. They focused on all-school events that would foster connections between every student. David and Kevin also stated that they would not view their presidential positions as part of this hierarchy and above the student body, but rather, they said, “We want to be seen as equals with everyone, recognizing the power we might hold in this position.” 

But, the duo that won it all is…

Kakeru Hirofuji and Analise Gomez

“Change that brings us together.” This is presidential candidate Kakeru’s and running mate Analise’s slogan, along with the combination of their last name to ask voters, “Can we be your HIROEZ?” While some candidates have touted their Senate experience, Kakeru and Analise are embracing their outside perspective and revolutionary mindset. In a written statement, they explained that the Senate can feel “slow and outdated” at times, but their strength is that “We are not confined to the old way things have been run. We are a pair of fresh minds with experience in driving change, ready to rebuild the system quickly and accurately.” Both candidates have wide-ranging impacts on campus and examples of real change, from Kakeru’s revamping of ASU to have “more cultural traditions this year than ever before” to Analise’s work helping create a “Women’s Forum series on female icons.” The experience they lack with Senate, they believe they make up for with their skills organizing new events and their navigation of Cate’s club leadership logistical systems. They are running under the pillars of belonging, wellness, and change. To help the sense of belonging at Cate, they want to instate programs like Student of the Week, essentially a public Kudos in assembly from a teacher, a kindness board, and encouraging more student recognition. For student wellness, Kakeru and Analise believe having all-school events like pool parties and “dog parks” during the most stressful times of the year, end-of-tri’s, can help alleviate some of the stress we find ourselves under. Finally, while attending Senate meetings, the two felt like many things felt more like “updates” than “targets” that could make real change, so they decided to revamp the system. Their ideas include assigning each member of Senate a pilot project to improve in their areas designed and modified through community feedback. Additionally, they realized the system for submitting bills leads many to be turned away, so they envision an online platform where bills can be submitted, reviewed, and edited with feedback before the Tuesday meeting to pass them more quickly.

The election is one of the few places where the entire student body comes together to make decisions that directly impact their futures. All of the candidates had unique skills and ideas, which they brought to the table, but ultimately, it was revealed last Friday that Kakeru and Analise won it all.