Next year’s undergraduate student government will feature the first-ever Bruins United majority, but many of the races had slim margins and the few elected from the minority slate hope they will be able to address their issues on the council table.
Bruins United, a slate in the Undergraduate Students Association Council elections, won the office of the president, as well as both vice presidents, two of the three general representatives and three commissioner positions.
The opposing slate, Students First!, won one general representative position and the office of the Cultural Affairs Commission.
Rick Tuttle, the USAC administrative alternative representative, said this year’s election was the first time he had seen no Students First! candidates elected to executive positions during his involvement with USAC, which dates back to 2001.
Students First! has largely dominated the council for more than a decade. The council in 2000 was the only one in that period in which Students First!, known as Praxis at the time, did not hold the seat of the presidency, breaking a five-year streak, according to the Daily Bruin archives.
“What strikes me about the results of the election is that it’s the first time I recall I saw a sweep of the top three spots (by Bruins United),” Tuttle said.
Though voter turnout increased, many of the races were close, with margins of less than 2 percent in some contests.
“This is not a complete sweep. (Students First!) has representation,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle said this election was also notable in that it will be the first year on council for every elected candidate, with no returning council members.
But he added that many had previously worked in student government offices as staff or interns.
President-elect Gabe Rose said with a majority on council, he hopes to accomplish more, faster, without the gridlock caused by this year’s split.
His first task as president is to appoint people to various positions such as budget review director and financial committee chair. Rose will also be responsible for appointing key positions such as spots on the Associated Students UCLA board of directors, Communications Board and Student Fee Advisory Committee.
Rose said he plans on choosing people from all areas of campus and selecting only “qualified people who will represent diversity of opinion.”
But some are worried that the appointments will only be given to Bruins United supporters.
Bernice Shaw, cultural affairs commissioner-elect, was one of the two Students First! candidates elected.
“I am concerned (the appointments) won’t be bipartisan,” she said.
Though Shaw expressed some reservations, she said she is looking forward to the council meeting as the first time to “get a feel on how things are.”
“I’m confident in my abilities to be able to maintain our voice in council and continue addressing the needs of students,” she said.
Rose said he understands that in previous years, a minority slate on the council was often ignored by the majority slate.
“I don’t intend on running council that way,” Rose said.
Shaw said she was frustrated and worried because the two slates differ in their priorities.
Many of the defeated candidates from Students First! plan to continue working on the issues, such as affordability, diversity and safety, Shaw said.
“It’s not just a one-week process, (it’s) a continual struggle,” Shaw said.
With 7,393 votes in the election, voter turnout was 30.94 percent, a 2.62 percent increase from last year.
“It’s hard to get a third of students to do anything,” Rose said. “The fact that 7,000 people went online and voted is something we should be proud of.”
He added that he wants to increase voter turnout by making sure USAC is seen as relevant to students.
“People feel that USAC is only around for elections and doesn’t do anything for them,” Rose said.
He said the Students First! presence on campus is very strong.
“It’s important to recognize that almost all of our candidates were elected. At the same time, of course, Students First! has a lot of support on campus,” Rose said.
Tuttle predicted the slate will re-emerge in next year’s elections.
“I’m utterly confident that Students First! will organize and come back,” Tuttle said.