Student Voice rings loud in landslide
win
Party takes 20 of 24 SGA senate seats
Election: Appeal now heads to Hearing
Board
By Tim Williams
Senior Staff Writer
The incumbent Student Voice party -- led
by presidential candidate Dawona Miller -- won all but one of the contested
Student Government Association
senate seats and swept all executive branch
positions in elections held Tuesday and Wednesday. Student Voice collected
nine senate seats unopposed.
The opposing Student Vision party won the
Honors College seat and collected three seats unopposed.
Miller ran away with a landslide victory
in the presidential race, garnering 77 percent of the total vote and beating
her closest opponent, Student Vision's Will
Dres, by 62 percent. Independent presidential
candidate Fabian Sifuentes trailed with just 8 percent of the vote.
Student Voice's margin of victory against
Student Vision in senate, presidential and student regent races averaged
60 percent, while Student Vision won
the Honors College by just seven out of
93 total votes, a 7 percent margin.
The wins extend Student Voice's firm hold
on student political power at UH to a second year.
Student Voice will control 20 of 24 senate
seats in the coming 39th administration, leaving Student Vision with too
small of a minority to effect legislation on
its own.
"If the students of the University want
that kind of leadership, that kind of government that cares about them
two days and goes out and poll-whores --
doing anything they can to win the votes
by ethical or unethical means -- then that's certainly what they got,"
Dres said of the results.
A 50 percent drop from last year's voter
turnout was cause for concern for Election Commissioner John Martinez and
at least two of the three presidential
candidates.
This year's ballot total was 1,296, down
from last year's total of 2,611, Election Commissioner John Martinez said.
Martinez attributed the free-fall to a
drop in the number of parties running and a lack of campaigning.
Student apathy and negative publicity about
the election process combined to discourage many potential voters, Miller
said.
Sifuentes said the drop is due to regular
students feeling removed from the process.
"Low voter turnout speaks volumes that
regular students like myself cannot win against an organized party," he
said.
Thursday's announcement ended a shortened
campaign period that for a second consecutive year was marked by complaints
against the Student Voice
party. Sifuentes filed four complaints
with the Election Commission during the election period.
Even with the election results announced,
the process continues in UH's judicial branch, where an appeal filed last
week by Sifuentes waits for
consideration by the University Hearing
Board.
An appeal of several Election Commission
decisions will continue until all UH administrative remedies have been
exhausted, Sifuentes said.
In that appeal, Sifuentes charged that
the lack of a third election commissioner and commissioners' failure to
notify him of a candidate seminar in a timely
manner compromised the election.
"I agree there are issues that still need
to be dealt with," Assistant Dean of Students Eddie Elizondo said. Complaints
filed by Sifuentes make this election
seem as problematic as last year's, Elizondo
said.
Elizondo is responsible for organizing
hearing board meetings, which are a mix of students, faculty and staff.
A quick hearing board decision will help
put issues to rest, he said.
Certification of the election results is
pending the outcome of Sifuentes' complaint, Martinez said. The next administration
could be sworn in as early as
Wednesday, he said.
Students elected to SGA executive seats
are Student Voice's Dawona Miller, president; Student Voice's Jon Quintanilla,
unopposed, vice president; and
Student Voice's Robert Klementich, Student
Regent.
At-large senators are Student Voice's Julie
Gibson, position 1; Student Voice's Christine Aboud, position 2; Student
Vision's Samuel Eddington,
unopposed, position 3; and Student Vision's
Brandon Donahue, unopposed, position 4.
The College of Business had five Student
Voice candidates who ran unopposed for senate seats. They are Geoge Siglar,
returning senator; John Poole;
Jeff Hill, returning senator; Fiona Stuart;
and Donica Beckett.
The College of Liberal Arts and Social
Sciences was swept by Student Voice candidates. They are April Spreeman-Harter,
returning senator; David Burkley;
Kalyn Kimmer; Victoria Gonzalez, returning
senator; Courtney White; Chigo Okere, returning senator; and Nathan Fontaine.
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
senators are Samnang Koy, unopposed; Student Voice's Ashley Hallene; and
Student Vision's Ivan
Yagolnikov, unopposed.
Student Voice's Brian Royo ran unopposed
for the College of Technology.
The College of Engineering senators are
Student Voice's Andrew Rodney and Tekara Wash.
Student Voice's Rosalyn Adigun ran unopposed
for the College of Pharmacy.
The Honors College senator is Student Vision's
Kimberly Black.
