Months of work and hundreds of dollars invested paid off for the new ASUO Executive Rachel Pilliod and Ben Buzbee, who won the general election in a landslide Friday.
The duo captured 1,056 of the 1,659 voting students ballots.
Opponents Sean Ritchie and Jason Babkes took 603 votes, a difference of
453.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” President-elect Pilliod said. “We’re pleased by the margin we won by, and so excited and appreciative of all the voters,” she said.
Pilliod also thanked her and Buzbee’s peers who organized their campaign.
“It was hard work and grassroots organization,” she said.
Buzbee said he plans to take a breather for a few days, then jump right
into examining his fiscal responsibilities as vice president.
“I’m looking forward to presenting the ASUO in a good light and letting
students know what ASUO does,” he said.
Ritchie and Babkes outspent Pilliod and Buzbee more than two-fold. The
pair launched a KNRQ radio campaign earlier this week, and ran a full-page advertisement on the back of the Emerald during the primary.
Expenditure forms for the last week of the race will be available Monday.
But Ritchie defended his and Babkes’ campaigning, blaming their outsider
position and student apathy for their loss.
“We wouldn’t have run our campaign any differently,” he said. “Students are bombarded for three weeks with elections. It turns them off to voting and is hard to combat.”
He added that they were playing catch-up from the beginning against a
ticket that had previous experience in student government.
“We were at a disadvantage from the start with not being in ASUO, and it
was just a little too much to compete with,” he said.
Turnout hit 10.5 percent this year, down from last weeks primary election peak of 15.3 percent and far off the ASUO Elections Boards goal of 20 percent.
ASUO President Nilda Brooklyn and Vice president Joy Nair won with 9
percent voter turnout.
ASUO Elections Coordinator Courtney Hight blamed the drop this year in
part on a lack of ballot measures and student confusion that they had to
vote in both a primary and a general election.
Hight said funding ballot measures attract more voters, and she heard of
some students who thought the primary vote sealed the election.
But Hight lauded her board for their efforts this year to spread the word about elections early and often.
“We started recruiting early, at the end of last term,” she said.
The elections board called their voter education seminars and candidates
fairs in the residence halls, Greek houses and student unions a success,
and also gave credit to the diverse group of candidates running in the
primary and generals.
Grievances have halted the last three ASUO elections, sometime multiple
times, forcing the ASUO Constitution Court to untie the political knots
before voting could resume. This year, the court dismissed the only
grievance 20 minutes after voting ended Friday.
The court dismissed the case on a technicality because it was based on
Oregon law only and no ASUO rule was referenced. The justices wrote in the decision that the court can only decide on questions arising under the ASUO Constitution.
Commentator Publisher Bret Jacobson filed the grievance after ASUO
Elections Board members refused to let media representatives witness last weeks primary election vote tally. Jacobson, in his grievance, argued that the count fell under Oregon public meeting law and asked for a recount and the removal of the elections board.
Even Hight was dismayed that the court still didn’t clarify the issue of
media presence during ballot tallies.
“I’d still like to know,” she said.
Jacobson could not be reached for comment Friday night.
In other University elections, James Tilford took the Programs Finance
Committee at Large seat. Esteban Montero, Jessica Fernandez and Megan
Hughes were named to the Student Recreation and Fitness Advisory Board.
The ASUO programs Finance Senators tacked Dominique Beaumonte on to their roster. Kate Kranzush is resuming her role of the Athletic Department Finance Senator and Levi Strom was voted the Social Sciences student senator.
Managing Editor Jeremy Lang contributed to this report.
E-mail reporter Robin Weber at [email protected].
2002 ASUO General Election results:
ASUO Executive:
Rachel Pillod and Ben Buzbee 1,056
Sean Ritchie and Jason Babkes 603
Programs Finance Committee At-Large Member:
James Tilford 500
Russ Tkebuchava 400
Student Recreation and Fitness Advisory Board (three open seats):
Megan Hughes 566
Esteban Montero 434
Jessica Fernandez 389
Senate seat #1 (PFC):
Dominique Beaumonte 541
Rick Reed 535
Senate seat #7 (ADFC):
Kate Kranzush 587
Brad Fetrow 399
Senate seat #14 (Social science majors):
Levi Strom 157
Abby Lovett 140