It took just 34 votes for Student Association President-elect John Richardson to beat out junior Chris Clark during last week’s SA runoff election.
Richardson, a sophomore, earned 50.6 percent of the vote to Clark’s 49.4 percent. In the general election two weeks before, Clark had led Richardson by 63 votes.
“It was a close race, but I’m excited to get started,” Richardson said. “We have a lot of big things on our plate and we can’t wait to get the ball rolling.”
Clark, this year’s SA Senate Finance Committee chair, wished Richardson well.
“It was a close election,” Clark said. “I tried my hardest and gave it a great run. I’m sure he will do a great job.”
Richardson, who during the campaign emphasized the need for more on-campus recruiting and student outreach, said he is gearing up to put a cabinet together by reaching out to a broad swath of student organizations and leaders.
“As soon as our team is set, we’ll begin meeting with org leaders and begin making appearances to various events on campus to remain connected with the students,” Richardson said. “There’s no reason to wait until the summer begins to get to work.”
Ted Costigan, a junior, was elected executive vice president over Amanda Galonek with 53.7 percent of the vote.
Costigan, who echoed Richardson’s excitement to being working, named Gelman Library at the top of his agenda.
“I think all along we’ve been saying that we need to fund the library,” Costigan said. “It is now time that we start investing in Gelman.”
Costigan, who centered his platform on lowering student fees, said he will meet with University Librarian Jack Siggins to devise a plan to ensure Gelman Library receives the funding it needs while also decreasing printing costs.
“We need to stop taking money from students to pay for basic costs, like printing in the library,” Costigan said.
Galonek, currently the SA Senate’s Rules Committee chair, said she won’t be leaving the senate without a bang.
“I still have a lot to give,” Galonek said. “I plan to finish the year off strong working toward my goals.”
The student body also approved a referendum to allow the SA Senate to create an instant runoff voting system, with 61 percent voting in favor of the measure.
The instant runoff system will prevent elections from going to a separate runoff election by allowing voters to rank multiple candidates running for office according to their preference.
