Amid chanting and cheers of excitement, the undergraduate
student government primary elections revealed a tight race with
runoffs for president, internal vice president and general
representatives.
After an intense round of cheers from Students First! members
and a more reserved and timid chant from Equal Access Coalition
members, Roy Samaan, chairman of the Elections Board, announced the
results.
With eight members running from each slate, Students First! put
three members into office, while Equal Access Coalition placed
two.
In a close race for president, Allende Palma/Saracho won the
popular vote with 36.57 percent of the voting student body.
Following closely behind, Josh Lawson took 32.8 percent of
students. Next week, there will be a runoff between the two.
Despite coming in second, Lawson is hopeful about his and his
slate’s chances next week.
“We are very optimistic now because of the close
race,” he said.
Excited to win the popular vote, Palma/Saracho said today is
another business day and the real victory will come next week when
they have all eight candidates in office, he said.
Next week, Palma/Saracho and Students First! members plan on
covering the campus in red and trying to establish a personal
connection with individual students.
Though he will not get the opportunity to work directly on next
year’s council, independent presidential candidate Doug
Ludlow said he hopes to continue to work toward the goals he
outlined in his campaign and continue the work he has done in his
three years at UCLA.
“I’ll accept any offer from Josh or Allende. …
Life goes on,” Ludlow said, adding that he will continue to
work with the Bruin Democrats and participate in USAC in any way he
can.
Rather than dwelling on the results of the elections, Ludlow
said he will go to Disneyland Friday for his fiancée’s
birthday and that they are looking forward to a summer wedding.
For the position of internal vice president, there will be a
runoff between Genevieve Espinosa and Darren Chan.
“We’ll keep doing what we’re doing, keep
talking to the folks that make it happen,” said Chan, an
independent candidate.
Equal Access Coalition candidate Mona Hassani and independent
candidate Jonathan Cohen were not able to earn a position in the
runoff.
John Vu, who will be next year’s external vice president,
said he will begin working toward his goals immediately and said he
has already begun to build connections.
On Monday campaigning will continue until the final results from
the runoff are announced next Thursday night.
Espinosa, eager and confident to be part of the runoff
elections, said Students First! will have more victories in the
coming week.
“We have to come full force next week. … We run as a
family. … We have diverse experiences and that’s why we
compliment each other well,” Espinosa said.
If Espinosa is elected internal vice president, after thanking
all her supporters and fellow members, she plans on continuing to
advocate outreach.
With the governor’s revised budget plans that include a
significant cut in outreach, Espinosa and Students First! members
have organized a rally stressing the importance of outreach that
will take place on May 18.
For the position of general representative, six candidates will
participate in the runoff elections next week.
Three of these candidates ““ Anneli Villarin, Jenny Wood
and Tommy Tseng ““ come from the Students First! slate and
said they are confident they have the skills and experience to head
this office.
Even if Students First! candidates do not win office, they said
they will continue to fight for the issues they feel are important
throughout their remaining years at UCLA.
“I will definitely be involved. We have been in this for a
long-ass time, we are not going to stop when we don’t get
into office just like the rest of them,” Villarin said.
Tseng said he has the most experience in student organization,
making him the most qualified candidate.
“Win or not, I will be involved in issues I care about.
… That’s a life thing,” Tseng said.
An issue Tseng plans on focusing on is the way education is not
valued in this state, he said
Three Equal Access Coalition general representative candidates
will also proceed to the runoff election next week. They plan on
continuing their enthusiasm to increase voter turnout.
“I am going to try to capture this event and get more
people involved,” said Alonzo Martin Del Campo.
Michi Kono, an independent candidate for general representative,
said he plans to work with council next year on the issues he
addressed in his campaign.
Though he ran as an independent candidate, Kono said he has
already built connections with candidates running under the Equal
Access Coalition and hopes to work with Students First! and
independent candidates as well.
The position of Financial Supports commissioner went to Equal
Access Coalition candidate Alex Gruenberg. It was the only opposed
spot the coalition was able to secure.
“I am going to lend 100 percent to the coalition. Our
message is just as important as individual candidates,” he
said.
Peter Bautista, who ran for Financial Supports commissioner,
said a loss in the primary election is no reason to discontinue the
efforts that he has already put in to the office.
“I’ll still get involved with USAC because
that’s the best place to get change,” Bautista said,
adding that he will focus in particular on the office’s
book-lending program.
Shantanu Bhuiyan, the first solid win of the night for Students
First!, will be Cultural Affairs commissioner next year.
The first thing Bhuiyan plans on doing is getting his staff
together and reaching out to other student groups on campus to have
more cultural performances throughout the year.