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SA Elections 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011 9:47 p.m.

Richardson, Costigan win Student Association election runoff

by Jamie Blynn

President-elect John Richardson greets supporters after clinching the Student Association top spot Thursday night. Francis Rivera | Contributing Photo Editor

John Richardson beat out Chris Clark for Student Association president by a margin of just 34 votes Thursday night.

Eric Thibault, right, congratulates Ted Costigan, the newly elected executive vice president of the SA, Thursday. Francis Rivera | Contributing Photo Editor

Richardson, a sophomore, earned 50.6 percent of the vote to Clark’s 49.4 percent.

“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.”

Ted Costigan was elected executive vice president over Amanda Galonek with 53.7 percent of the vote.

“Students want a fighter and I’m answering to that call,” Costigan, a junior, said.

The student body also approved a referendum to create an instant runoff voting system by 61 percent.

 

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Thursday, March 24, 2011 8:19 p.m.

SA election results liveblog

by The GW Hatchet
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011 4:57 p.m.

Runoff candidates vie for votes

by Jamie Blynn

The campaign atmosphere on H Street was a far cry from what it was two weeks ago, as the four candidates for Student Association president and executive vice president vied for the attention of student voters Wednesday, the first day of the runoff election.

Runoff elections – which occur when no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote required to win – are often more subdued than general elections, as there are fewer candidates and less posters scattered across campus.

Presidential candidate John Richardson said he will be outside all day meeting and getting to know the students better in an effort to win the election.

“We have a really strong presence out here and have laid out the groundwork to push us over the edge,” Richardson, who garnered 25.02 percent of the vote in the general election, said.

The scene was amicable as Richardson and his opponent Chris Clark – who received the most votes among the seven original presidential candidates  – stood together joking around as friends.

“He’s a good guy,” Richardson said, motioning toward Clark. “Just because we’re campaigning against each other doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Clark agreed with Richardson, noting his excitement in the final stretch of the campaign.

“It’s a great day to be palm carding, baby,” Clark said. “We’ll be out here all day getting the word out.”

Executive vice presidential candidate Ted Costigan said he was the first to arrive on H Street at 7:45 a.m. to start campaigning.

“We’re motivated and got here early to begin the fight to win,” said Costigan, who received the largest percent of the vote among the EVP candidates at 32.53 percent.

Costigan is going up against EVP candidate Amanda Galonek, who garnered 26.53 of the vote in the general election.

Galonek, an SA senator and veteran to campaigning, noted the need to get the word out to students to vote in the runoff election.

“With seven presidential and five EVP candidates in the general election, voters came from every constituency,” Galonek said, referring to the general election. “Now that it is just between four candidates, we have to work harder to get the students to jump on board and vote.”

Online voting will end Thursday at 9 p.m.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011 1:28 a.m.

Clark, Costigan safe from ballot removal

by Jamie Blynn

Presidential candidate Chris Clark and executive vice presidential candidate Ted Costigan were both cleared of campaign charges by the Joint Elections Committee Tuesday night, and both candidates will participate in to this week’s runoff election as originally planned.

Clark was acquitted of a charge alleging he sent out a campaign email prior to the start of the official campaign period. The JEC also unanimously found Clark not guilty of having palm cards taped in various places in Madison Hall. According to election rules, no poster may be hung inside a residence hall unless it is on a dorm room door or inside the room itself.

The Clark campaign said they did not  dorm storm – an event where candidates are permitted to go through the residence halls to campaign – this year. Clark added that if his team did dorm storm, Madison Hall would be not have been their first choice of halls to visit or poster.

“The violations were misguided and overblown,” Clark said. “I appreciate the JEC and their understanding of the situation. I look forward to this week’s campaign election and look forward to having the opportunity in serving the student body next year.”

Clark, who received 26.53 percent of the vote in the general election, will face off against John Richardson for the Student Association presidency in Wednesday and Thursday’s runoff elections. Richardson garnered 25.02 percent of the vote.

EVP hopeful Ted Costigan was acquitted on all eight charges levied against him.

The JEC found Costigan not guilty for having a poster hung on a wall in Thurston Hall, for hanging a poster on the Clock Tower on the Mount Vernon Campus, and for distributing palm cards outside the designated campaigning zones.

Additionally, Costigan was acquitted of all charges made against him for disrupting University functions during a rally outside Gelman Library March 7 to protest student printing costs. Costigan also did not receive any violations for his involvement in a Facebook event to promote the rally.

Costigan was further found not guilty of interrupting a Pi Kappa Phi chapter meeting. He will go up against EVP rival Amanda Galonek in the runoff election.

Both candidates already received violations two weeks ago for postering on the walls adjacent to the entrance of Ross Hall. Clark received two and Costigan received one, based on the number of posters hanging on the building’s walls.

It takes six penalties to be removed from the ballot. Penalties are assessed based on the number of violations a candidate is convicted of.

“We’ve been committed to running a campaign while my opponents have come up with charges against me instead,” Costigan said. “I’m going to be out there again, fighting hard for every vote.”

Newly-elected SA Sen. Nick Koeniger, SoB-U, received two violations for distributing palm cards at the entrance of Duques Hall and in the buildings’ study rooms.  Candidates are restricted to specific zones on election day marked by campaign tape.

The JEC also gave one violation to Senator-elect Elizabeth Kennedy, ESIA-U, for creating a public event on Facebook. The committee’s charter notes that Facebook events must be closed and that only the candidate may invite people to attend.

Runoff election voting will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011 10:01 a.m.

SA runoff election ballot to include vote on new instant runoff voting system

by Jamie Blynn

An amendment to change the way students vote for Student Association president and executive vice president will go before the student body for a vote Wednesday and Thursday during the SA runoff election.

If passed, the amendment would allow the Senate to create an instant runoff voting system for next year’s elections.

The system would prevent SA elections from going to a separate runoff vote by allowing voters to rank multiple candidates running for office according to preference. If no candidate received the required 40 percent of the vote to win, computer software would eliminate the candidate in last place. The last place candidate’s votes would then be distributed to their supporters’ second choice which they marked on their ballots.

“Combining runoff with the general election saves time,” said former SA Sen. Phil Gardner, who ran for SA president on a platform to abolish the SA.

Gardner added that because the events are separate, voter turnout tends to be lower for the runoff.

“[The IRV system] allows more voters to participate in the runoff,” Gardner said. “Turnout drops significantly from the general election to the runoff election under the current system.”

The SA Senate first passed a bill, sponsored by then-Sen. Gardner, in favor of the Instant Runoff Voting system last year, with the stipulation that the student body vote on it during this year’s election. Although it was left off the ballot during the general election earlier this month, Joint Elections Committee Chair Galen Petruso confirmed it will be on the ballot during the runoff.

Petruso said the JEC was not notified of the amendment until the day of the general election.

“[The amendment] will be added to the runoff election [ballot] to be voted on,” Petruso said. “No one from the senate notified us about it until the day of elections.”

Marvin Center Governing Board and Sen. Dylan Pyne, CCAS-U, informed the JEC of the missing amendment on the ballot.

“I was under the expectation that it would be in the ballot, but when I opened up my ballot to vote it was not there.  I felt passionate enough to inform them,” Pyne said, noting that it was most likely a mistake.  ”I would not say that [it was forgotten] because of the turnover, but it not being there was in no way malicious.”

Runoff elections will be held March 23 and 24.

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Friday, March 11, 2011 7:07 p.m.

Clark, Costigan face potential removal from runoff ballot

by Jamie Blynn

Student Association presidential candidate Chris Clark and executive vice presidential candidate Ted Costigan each face enough campaign violations to potentially remove them from the runoff election ballot, a member of the Joint Elections Committee said Friday.

The JEC found probable cause on eight complaints made against Clark and on four against Costigan, in addition to four other complaints the JEC validated against Costigan Wednesday.

JEC Vice Chair Hardy Farrow said Clark’s violations stem from campaign poster infractions and sending unsolicited e-mails. Costigan’s are related to posters, “disrupting University functions and distributing campaign material inside a University building,” Farrow said.

It takes six penalties to be removed from the ballot. Penalties are assessed based on the number of violations a candidate is convicted of.

Both candidates already received violations Tuesday for postering on the walls adjacent to the entrance of Ross Hall.  Clark received two and Costigan received one, based on the number of posters hanging on the building’s walls.

Clark is set to face off against presidential candidate John Richardson in the runoff, and Costigan is pitted against Amanda Galonek after Thursday’s election results. JEC Chair Galen Petruso said the committee has yet to determine what will happen if either candidate is removed from the ballot. He said the runoff would likely be delayed and the next runner-up would be added to the ballot.

Kwasi Agyeman came in third in the presidential race and Samantha Free came in third in the EVP race.

Newly-elected SA School of Business Sen. Nick Koeniger will also be tried for two violations and Elliott School of International Affairs Sen. Elizabeth Kennedy will be tried for one.

The runoff elections are scheduled for March 23 and 24.

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Friday, March 11, 2011 4:13 p.m.

JEC releases full list of election winners

by Madeleine Morgenstern

The Joint Elections Committee released the full list of Student Association, Program Board, Marvin Center Governing Board and Class Council winners after Thursday’s elections.

Runoff elections for SA president and executive vice president will be held March 23 and 24.

The full list of winners is below:

Student Association President

  1. Chris Clark – 1,107 votes – 26.53 percent
  2. John Richardson – 1,044 votes – 25.02 percent (will proceed to runoff)
  3. Kwasi Agyeman – 695 votes – 16.65 percent
  4. Caleb Raymond – 472 votes – 11.32 percent
  5. Phil Gardner – 304 votes – 7.28 percent
  6. Jason Kaplan – 301 votes – 7.21 percent
  7. Joshua Benjamin – 250 votes – 5.99 percent

Student Association Executive Vice President

  1. Ted Costigan – 1,317 votes – 32.53 percent
  2. Amanda Galonek – 1,074 votes – 26.53 percent (will proceed to runoff)
  3. Samantha Free – 757 votes -18.70 percent
  4. Aria Varasteh – 642 votes – 15.86 percent
  5. Zahin Hasan – 254 votes – 6.40 percent

Student Association Undergraduate-At Large Senator – two seats

  1. John Bennett – 1,535 votes
  2. Cory Grever – 1,485 votes
  3. Keaghan Ames – 1,370 votes
  4. Zach Kahn – 809 votes

Student Association CCAS Undergraduate Senator – six seats

  1. Josh Goldstein – 861 votes
  2. Samuel Sherman – 780 votes
  3. Scott Backer – 773 votes
  4. Kaitlin Gaughran – 766 votes
  5. Danica Brown – 730 votes
  6. Eric Arpert – 693 votes
  7. Daniel Bassali – 630 votes
  8. Jonathan Carfagno – 626 votes
  9. Gordon Pera – 567 votes
  10. Daniel Ceisler – 543 votes

Student Association ESIA Undergraduate Senator – three seats

  1. Elizabeth Kennedy – 332 votes
  2. Elena Gillis – 321 votes
  3. Manuel Iglesias – 249 votes
  4. Nathaniel Austin – 230 votes
  5. Garrett Graham – 173 votes
  6. Mateo Garcia – 164 votes
  7. Jason Gamache – 161 votes
  8. Patrick Cero – 111 votes

Student Association SEAS Undergraduate Senator – one seat

  1. Dan Gil – 122 votes
  2. Amitava Paul – 66 votes

Student Association SOB Undergraduate Senator – two seats

  1. Nick Koeniger – 213 votes
  2. Russell Feldman – 205 votes
  3. Michael Buss – 197 votes
  4. Hugo Scheckter – 163 votes

Student Association SMHS Undergraduate Senator – one write-in

  1. Sahand Yaqoub Moradi

Student Association CPS Undergraduate Senator – one write-in

  1. vacant

Student Association SPHHS Undergraduate Senator – one seat

  1. Alexander Mizenko

Student Association Graduate-At Large Senator – two seats

  1. James Bonneau
  2. Liz Barnes – write-in

Student Association CCAS Graduate Senator – three seats

  1. Bradley Dlatt
  2. Gary Wong – write-in
  3. Three-way tie between Brian Cahill, Joshua Patchus, Matthew Gripp - write-in

Student Association ESIA Graduate Senator – one seat

  1. Patrick Hanley

Student Association Law School Senator – three seats

  1. Jake Chervinsky
  2. Meredith Dempsey
  3. Katie Ondeck – write-in

Student Association SMHS Graduate Senator – two seats

  1. Robert Kickish
  2. Jordan Werner – write-in

Student Association SEAS Graduate Senator – two seats

  1. William Rone
  2. Three-way tie between Gabriel Yessin, Steve Holt, J.P. Blackford - write in

Student Association SOB Graduate Senator – two seats

  1. Jason Platzman
  2. Kendra Singh

Student Association CPS Graduate Senator – one write-in

  1. Brian Hawthorne

Student Association School of Nursing Senator – one write-in seat

  1. vacant

Program Board Executive Chair

  1. Connor Currier

Program Board Executive Vice Chair

  1. Megan Davidson

Marvin Center Governing Board – Undergraduate – four seats

  1. Jordan Hill
  2. Dylan Pyne
  3. Edwin Wharton
  4. Joong Hyup Lee

Marvin Center Governing Board – Graduate – one write-in

  1. Gary Wong

Class Council – sophomore – seven seats

  1. Mary Devlin
  2. Khadija Lalani
  3. Five appointed seats

Class Council – junior – seven seats

  1. Arsalan Ahmad
  2. Brett Rudman
  3. Five appointed seats

Class Council – senior – seven seats

  1. Estee Gabel
  2. Christopher Stevenson
  3. Five appointed seats
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Thursday, March 10, 2011 10:37 p.m.

Clark, Richardson to move to SA presidential runoff; Costigan, Galonek for EVP runoff

by Jamie Blynn

SA Presidential Candidate Chris Clark, center, celebrates moving on to a runoff election with his supporters. Jordan Emont | Contributing Photo Editor

Both races for Student Association president and executive vice president will head to a runoff, after none of the candidates garnered enough votes Thursday night to win the election outright.

Chris Clark and John Richardson will face off in a runoff election election for SA president, and Ted Costigan and Amanda Galonek will move to a runoff for EVP.

Executive Vice Presidential candidate Ted Costigan received more than 30 percent of the vote, and will move on to the runoff. Francis Rivera | Contributing Photo Editor

Runoff elections occur between the top two vote-getters when no candidate reaches 40 percent of the vote.

Clark won 26.2 percent and Richardson received 25 percent. In the EVP race, Costigan won 32.5 percent and Galonek got 26.5 percent.

The Joint Elections Committee announced the results in the Marvin Center Thursday night to a full Continental Ballroom.

“I’m very happy with the outcome,” Clark said.  ”We’re going to come back after spring break ready to rock and roll.  This has been the most competitive presidential race for the SA.”

EVP candidate Amanda Galonek celebrates moving on to the runoff. Jordan Emont | Contributing Photo Editor

Richardson was not present for the election results, but said before the election that he is excited ” to build upon” the “great amount of momentum” generated during the general election.

“I’m fired up and ready to come back after break,” Galonek said. “We’ve worked extremely hard and I’ve had great support from the campaign team.”

Costigan expressed the same sentiments.

“The students want a fighter and I’m happy to stand up and be that person,” Costigan said. “I’m ready to come back and fight.”

The runoff elections will be held March 23 and 24.

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011 11:37 p.m.

JEC gives violations to nine more candidates

by Jamie Blynn

Nine more Student Association candidates received election penalties from the Joint Elections Committee Wednesday night, halfway through the two-day election period. None of them received enough to be removed from the ballot.

After debating in executive session for half an hour, JEC members determined SA presidential candidate Chris Clark, executive vice presidential candidates Ted Costigan and Zahin Hasan, and SA Senate hopefuls Danica Brown, Daniel Bassali and Jonathan Carfagno guilty of hanging campaign posters on the exterior walls adjacent to the entrance of Ross Hall.

According to the election charter, postering in this area is grounds for  violation. JEC Chief Investigator Willard Applefeld said posters adjacent to the Ross Hall entrance give candidates an unfair advantage “up and down 23rd Street.”

Penalties were determined based on every fifth poster, or fraction thereof.  Hasan received four penalties, Clark and Bassali each received two violations, and Costigan, Carfagno, and Brown each received one.

It takes six penalties to remove a candidate from the ballot.

“It’s unfortunate,” Clark said afterward. “But we’re going to keep powering through it.  It was not intentional and was a complete misread of the charter.  We’re going to move forward from here.”

EVP candidate Aria Varasteh also received one violation for covering Costigan’s last name on a poster with tape.

“I just did not check the Academic Building at the end of the day.  It was a mistake.” Varasteh said. “It’s the day before the election, I am not going to contest.

Presidential candidate Kwasi Agyeman, who received two penalties last week for sending unsolicited e-mails to student organization leaders, was also tried for hanging posters on Ross Hall, but was the only candidate not found guilty.

Agyeman argued that based on the evidence, it was unclear whether his posters were hanging at Ross Hall or not.

The JEC also handed down penalties to senate candidates Manuel Iglesias and Patrick Cero for not getting their posters approved. Both received one penalty each.

JEC Chair Galen Petruso said the committee will disclose its reasoning for the decisions within 72 hours.

“The specific reasons as to why candidates were found in violation will be found in the committee’s finding of fact, which will be adopted within 72 hours of the decision,” Petruso said.  ”While it is regretable that penalties had to be assessed, the JEC operates under the charter it is given and must conduct elections accordingly.”

The JEC’s next violations hearing will be held after spring break. Costigan currently faces four additional violations and senate candidate Elizabeth Kennedy faces one.

Voting will resume Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011 10:27 a.m.

JEC announces location for election results

by Jamie Blynn

The Joint Elections Committee will announce the results of the Student Association, Marvin Center Governing Board, Class Council and Program Board elections in the Marvin Center Continental Ballroom Thursday.

In previous years, the JEC made these announcements in the Marvin Center’s Columbian Square.

Polls are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

If no candidate receives more than 40 percent of the vote for a specific seat, runoff elections will be held March 23 and 24.

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