Emma Kallaway will be the next ASUO president after beating rival Michelle Haley by more than 600 votes in the ASUO general election.
Kallaway’s victory was occasioned by wins for her supporters on the Students First and True Blue slates in 13 of the 14 other races that went to the general election. Haley’s Oregon Action Team slate, whose candidates finished first in all but one of the races they contested in the primary election, gained only three positions Friday.
Voting in the election ended Thursday at 5 p.m., but the ASUO Elections Board held up release of the results to determine whether it could give the vote to students in the American English Institute. After meetings with the University administration Friday morning, however, the elections board decided against pursuing the issue and posted the results in the ASUO office window that afternoon.
“The elections turned into a circus,” Students First campaign manager Andrew Crampton said, “but the process is not a circus.” Crampton said the issues raised by the election will have to be addressed next year.
Other elections board rulings stirred controversy during the election. The board ordered Haley and her running mate Ted Sebastian stricken from the ballot after finding that evidence it received supported allegations of bribery. The decision was reversed by the ASUO Constitution Court, which found the evidence insufficient to prove the charges.
Oregon Action Team campaign manager Marcus Krieg said the board’s decisions were responsible in part for the slate’s performance.
“What’s unfortunate is I think our candidates ran a real honest and good campaign,” Krieg said. “It’s real tough because I think the ASUO will miss the Oregon Action Team this year.”
Krieg also mentioned “bad press” and the manner in which Kallaway and her running mate Getachew Kassa administered their campaign. He cited their decision to ally with slates whose presidential candidates lost in the primaries as evidence that their claims to independence were false. “They’ve run a really shitty, really petty campaign,” he said.
Kallaway disagreed.
“The campaigns bring out frustration in anyone,” she said, referring to Krieg’s comment. “When you have this much energy bottled into three weeks, it can bring out the worst in anybody.”
Kallaway said she owes her victory to the competence and independence of her supporters.
Haley and Sebastian did not return phone calls before this story went to press. Kallaway said at 8:30 p.m. Friday that she had not heard from Haley. “I think people are still in shock,” she said. Haley e-mailed a statement to the Emerald thanking her supporters, but made no mention of her opponents.
Kallaway said she received congratulatory phone calls from Sen. Demic Tipitino and President Sam Dotters-Katz.
“I have a great deal of respect for President-elect Emma Kallaway and I’m confident she will far surpass the measure which will be given to my legacy,” Dotters-Katz said.
Kallaway received 2,031 votes in the general election, more than double the number she got during the primary. Haley’s total of 1,368 only bettered her support in the primaries by 30 votes. The number of votes in the general election totaled 3,695, down from 4,108 in the primary.
Kallaway and Haley ran against three other candidates in the primary: True Blue’s Nick Schultz, Students First’s Carina Miller and independent candidate Ryan McCarrel. After the election, in which Haley finished first and Kallaway second, both opposing slates and McCarrel endorsed Kallaway, issuing fliers and messages reading “Vote All Three.”
In total, 11 Students First candidates won positions in the general election, along with five from True Blue. The only general election candidate from coalition who did not win a race was incumbent Sen. Deborah Bloom, who lost by only six votes. Crampton said the slate’s success was a reflection of its values of integrating diverse perspectives.
Kallaway said she will look Monday to begin a smooth transition of power from current ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, which will include assembling an executive staff. She said she hopes Oregon Action Team members will seek jobs on it.
“I really hope that anyone who didn’t succeed the way they want to will continue to be involved in the ASUO,” Kallaway said.
Krieg said he is skeptical that there will be a place for his candidates under Kallaway. “Every time they look at us, they’ll know that they won a really underhanded campaign,” he said.
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