By Joe Griffith and Melissa Chi
Published March 27th 2009 in Independent Collegian
Krystal Weaver and Rachael Wise were announced the winners for the Student Government presidential election yesterday. They won the election with 57.1 percent of the vote after the instant run-off, with SG ticket Mark Carter and Mark D’Apolito coming in a close second with 42.9 percent of the votes.
“We are very happy and very excited,” Weaver said.
“Thrilled would probably be a good word … shaking,” Wise added.
“I think 57 percent is not a lot, and I think it’s really close,” said Kristina Karbula, current SG vice president who also ran as a presidential candidate in the election. “I mean, I could have seen any of us winning really going into it; so, no regrets.”
In order to cast a vote through the system used this year, voters had to choose three tickets even if they only had one or two tickets in mind, which some argue may have had an adverse effect on the results.
The ticket with the lowest amount of votes was eliminated, and the votes were then reallocated based on second preferences among the three tickets. The process continued until a majority of votes were reached, said Adam Kopchian, chairman of this years’ SG Election Board.
“I think it was, as far back in history as I know, it has been the closest and most widely advertised race that we’ve had … with four very qualified tickets,” Weaver said. “So, it was an honor to be in the race and more of an honor to win.”
Seifert agreed that this year’s election was a “very contested race,” which is beneficial for UT.
“I think that it’s good for the university that we have some viable options, and truly I have faith in the student body, and if they student body says that Rachael and Krystal were the best candidates, then I would have to agree with them,” Seifert said.
Weaver said campaigning for an SG office is a difficult time for all candidates.
“Being in the paper and being in the public eye, it’s a tough thing to do, so, I really want to commend the other candidates for going out there and putting themselves out there, and we’re hoping they’ll be willing to work with us and help us get some of their platforms done, too,” Weaver said.
With the ultimate goal of making UT a “better place,” Weaver said she is hoping to develop teamwork with the other tickets and the rest of SG.
“We’re absolutely open to working with the other tickets; we don’t have any hard feelings for anyone,” she said. “Elections always incite a lot of emotions, but hopefully we can put all of this aside and work together and realize that we really have the same common goal.”
While Weaver and Wise said they were looking forward to a collaboration of their efforts with the other tickets, the sentiment may not be shared.
“In terms of character, I think a lot of things came out during election, and some of the things that have come out during this election has kind of spoke to a lot of people’s character … kind of chips into your ability to work with someone,” said Presidential Candidate Brad Davy.
Although his ticket lost the election, Davy said his campaign was positive and respectful, and the only change he would have made would have been to start campaigning earlier. “I think that we let the campaign kind of take its course whereas other people were running against other campaigns, [and] I think we ran our own,” Davy said.
“Sam and I are the kind of people that would have done this job with or without the tuition, without the stipends without any of the benefits,” Karbula said. “We definitely would have done it and will continue for the student body and will be happy to do so.”
Seifert said all of the SG tickets this year had something unique to offer to the organization, and there is potential for collaborative work among the former campaign rivals.
“It will be interesting to see what this administration has as priorities and how well they work with other people and how much other people are willing to work with them,” Karbula said.
“We are very happy and very excited,” Weaver said.
“Thrilled would probably be a good word … shaking,” Wise added.
“I think 57 percent is not a lot, and I think it’s really close,” said Kristina Karbula, current SG vice president who also ran as a presidential candidate in the election. “I mean, I could have seen any of us winning really going into it; so, no regrets.”
In order to cast a vote through the system used this year, voters had to choose three tickets even if they only had one or two tickets in mind, which some argue may have had an adverse effect on the results.
The ticket with the lowest amount of votes was eliminated, and the votes were then reallocated based on second preferences among the three tickets. The process continued until a majority of votes were reached, said Adam Kopchian, chairman of this years’ SG Election Board.
“I think it was, as far back in history as I know, it has been the closest and most widely advertised race that we’ve had … with four very qualified tickets,” Weaver said. “So, it was an honor to be in the race and more of an honor to win.”
Seifert agreed that this year’s election was a “very contested race,” which is beneficial for UT.
“I think that it’s good for the university that we have some viable options, and truly I have faith in the student body, and if they student body says that Rachael and Krystal were the best candidates, then I would have to agree with them,” Seifert said.
Weaver said campaigning for an SG office is a difficult time for all candidates.
“Being in the paper and being in the public eye, it’s a tough thing to do, so, I really want to commend the other candidates for going out there and putting themselves out there, and we’re hoping they’ll be willing to work with us and help us get some of their platforms done, too,” Weaver said.
With the ultimate goal of making UT a “better place,” Weaver said she is hoping to develop teamwork with the other tickets and the rest of SG.
“We’re absolutely open to working with the other tickets; we don’t have any hard feelings for anyone,” she said. “Elections always incite a lot of emotions, but hopefully we can put all of this aside and work together and realize that we really have the same common goal.”
While Weaver and Wise said they were looking forward to a collaboration of their efforts with the other tickets, the sentiment may not be shared.
“In terms of character, I think a lot of things came out during election, and some of the things that have come out during this election has kind of spoke to a lot of people’s character … kind of chips into your ability to work with someone,” said Presidential Candidate Brad Davy.
Although his ticket lost the election, Davy said his campaign was positive and respectful, and the only change he would have made would have been to start campaigning earlier. “I think that we let the campaign kind of take its course whereas other people were running against other campaigns, [and] I think we ran our own,” Davy said.
“Sam and I are the kind of people that would have done this job with or without the tuition, without the stipends without any of the benefits,” Karbula said. “We definitely would have done it and will continue for the student body and will be happy to do so.”
Seifert said all of the SG tickets this year had something unique to offer to the organization, and there is potential for collaborative work among the former campaign rivals.
“It will be interesting to see what this administration has as priorities and how well they work with other people and how much other people are willing to work with them,” Karbula said.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.