On April 13th and 14th, Essex High School students will vote for the 2026-2027 student body president. Ahead of the election, candidates will participate in a live streamed debate on April 6th, offering students a chance to hear directly from those running.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, multiple candidates have begun campaigning and sharing their platforms with the student body. Through a mix of outreach efforts and school-based initiatives, candidates are working to communicate their priorities and connect with their voters.
Across these campaigns, several common goals have emerged, including repainting parking lot lines, increasing school spirit, and allowing sports participation to count toward P.E. credit.
Beyond shared goals, each set of candidates has its own ideas about how to improve the school in the upcoming year. Here’s a closer look at who’s running and what sets their campaigns apart.
Rhiannon Adams and Piper Willis
One pair running for office are Juniors Rhiannon Adams and Piper Willis. The duo also ran for office last year, and are returning again to the election with Adams running for President and Willis running for Vice.
“We seek to do a good job at the presidential debate, utilizing both of our speaking skills,” Adams said.
Adams and Willis–who have begun to post a handful of their goals on their Instagram page–will be focusing on multiple issues during the debate and beyond.
“We seek to fix some of the big issues that EHS faces in direct, planned-out manners,” said Adams. “The issues we think are most critical are parking, attendance at events, and overall recognition of our athletic, academic, and artistic stars.”
William White and Hallie Corneau
“Our main goal is to increase transparency between Student Government and the Student Body and increase our communication with Admin,” William White, a candidate for student body president, said.
White, a third-year senator, is running for president with Hallie Corneau, who is also a third-year member of Student Government. With their shared backgrounds, they aim to keep an open-door policy, highlighting individual students’ opinions.
“If we get elected, we’ll most likely send out Google Forms or interest forms for people to fill out if they want to talk to us,” Corneau said.
Simran Chherti and Kaelyn McNamara
While many candidates are emphasizing sports involvement, Simran Chherti is prioritizing school spirit within the arts. Chherti, a first-year senator, is running for president alongside Kaelyn McNamara, also a first-year senator.
“I think there’s a lot of division between sports and arts, and we want to bring that division closer,” Chherti said.
Apart from their focus on the arts, this duo also plans to highlight the wide range of cultures represented within the student body.
“We are also going to try to mix all the communities within the schools,” McNamara said.
Henry Dimitroff and Zach Jackman
Known for their involvement in school sports, Junior Henry Dimitroff is running for president with Zach
Jackman. The pair hopes to finally make school sports count as P.E. credits, while also fixing minor parking lot problems.
“We value our athletes. We think they deserve more for what they do for the school,” Dimitroff said.
Jackman added that in the coming weeks, they plan to use social media to reach more students and build support. The pair is also prioritizing outreach to underclassmen as part of their campaign strategy.
Charlie Roy and Kanchan Pradhan
The final pair of candidates includes two underclassmen, Sophomores Charlie Roy and Kanchan Pradhan. Both Roy and Pradhan are highly involved with activism within and beyond school grounds.
“We have a slogan which is excellence, everybody, every day,” Roy said. “Our main goals are just to promote excellence at our school and ensure that every student is supported the same way by Student Government.”
Additionally, they plan to campaign through Instagram, while also putting up posters around the school to reach students who may not use social media.
As EHS students prepare to cast their votes, the election offers an opportunity to consider the ideas each candidate brings to the table. This year’s race highlights a new wave of diverse voices that will shape the school community and impact the experiences of future students.
