New St. Pete SG lieutenant governor appointed
Chief of Staff for the USF St. Pete Student Government (SG) Livia Rosales was confirmed as the new St. Pete lieutenant governor Thursday evening, a week after former Lt. Gov. Isaiah Castle resigned.
A confirmation hearing was held on Microsoft Teams by the St. Pete SG Campus Council, which appointed Rosales after a vote was taken consisting of five yeas and zero nays. There was one absence and one refusal to vote.
St. Pete Gov. Andrea Rodriguez-Campos nominated Rosales after Castle resigned March 18 in compliance with SG Statutes when a Title IX investigation placed him on disciplinary probation.
St. Pete Lt. Gov.-elect Eran Fruehauf, who will succeed Rosales in April, and Assistant Director of Student Life and Engagement Robert Herron oversaw the proceedings of the hearing, with Fruehauf presenting the agenda and Herron taking roll for the hearing.
Rodriguez-Campos expressed confidence in Rosales to fulfill her duties as lieutenant governor.
“Livia will do an excellent job as we near the end of the semester,” said Rodriguez-Campos. “I’m really excited to see some of her initiatives going to fruition and see that development within her, and it starts today.”
The St. Pete Campus Council held a five-minute Q&A for Rosales, led by Rep. Daniel Lujo. He asked Rosales how she was feeling about taking on this new responsibility and how she plans to differentiate herself from her predecessors.
“It’s going pretty smoothly,” said Rosales. “This week, I’ve already hopped on some progress updates with Andrea’s initiatives and have begun stepping into the role.”
Rosales also admitted that despite her lack of training for her new position, she said her experience and understanding of the inner workings of SG has her confident in her new appointment.
Rep. Yamaris Rodriguez asked Rosales about the values she will bring to her new role.
“One of the values that I hold to my heart is boldness,” said Rosales. “My younger brother actually just entered the Marine Corps last year, so his value of boldness has definitely rubbed off on me.”
Rosales said she’ll transition from chief of staff to lieutenant governor by being bold and facing challenges head on.
Rosales previously served as director of events at the St. Pete SG for the fall 2019 and spring 2020 terms. She currently works at Raymond James Marketing as a communications intern.
Due to her friendship with Rodriguez-Campos, Rosales assured those at the meeting they will have the ability to maximize their efforts to achieve as much as possible before the school year ends.
“I have mornings and very late nights open on my calendar,” said Rosales. “By extending my hours during the week, and prioritizing Andrea and her initiatives, I want to make sure that all of them are finished to the absolute max before the end of the semester.”