Michelle Haley and Emma Kallaway will contest the ASUO general election's presidential race after a primary election in which they finished above their three rivals.
More than 1/5 of the student body voted - a total of 4,108 votes cast, or 20.5 percent - according to the ASUO elections board, an increase from last year.
Haley's Oregon Action Team slate dominated the voting. Its candidates finished first in all but two of the races they contested, including the executive race. However, only four won their races outright.
But while Oregon Action Team celebrated its victory, the election's second-largest slate, True Blue Student Coalition, was left licking its wounds. The slate's presidential candidate Nick Schultz finished third, and only six of its 21 candidates advanced to the general election - one in an uncontested election and two in a race from which every candidate advanced. Students First candidate Carina Miller finished fourth and independent presidential candidate Ryan McCarrel finished fifth.
Former ASUO Vice President Chii-San SunOwen, a Kallaway supporter, said her candidates' second-place finish showed they were working hard, though less visibly than others. "I think people did their homework," she said of voters who supported Kallaway.
Candidates who won
| - | Though the majority of races will carry into the general election, the following candidates won their races outright and will assume their positions next year: • Demic Tipitino (Senate Seat 9, D.F.C.) • Ryan Lassi (Senate Seat 13, business administration) • Christina Ergas (Senate Seat 17, graduate and law students) • Amanda Hilts (Senate Seat 20, education and community education) • Geoffrey Scoones (Department Finance Committee at-large, 1 year) • Ben Normandin (Department Finance Committee at-large, 2 year) • Megan Foster (Student Building Fee Allocation Committee) |
Schultz blamed True Blue's losses on an absence of support from one of what he called the traditional political constituencies of ASUO politics - Greek life, students in residence halls and members of student unions. "We really didn't target our campaign to any of those groups," Schultz said. "We wanted to do something different."
Schultz based his campaign on grassroots support, canvassing off campus and working with veteran organizers from the Barack Obama presidential campaign. Though he denied that the results discredited the strategy, Schultz admitted, "We just didn't get enough students to turn out and vote."
While Schultz's campaign did not win races with its tactical innovations, another slate celebrated following traditional methods to victory. Haley attributed success to the Greek vote and said she expects more votes from fraternities and sororities in the general election.
"We have 11 Greek candidates on our slate and they represent seven different houses," Haley said. "Our outreach to the Greek community has not been invasive but welcome and obviously very effective, and I believe we will have the same outreach again and get the same result, if not better."
Executive Race Results
| - | • Michelle Haley/Ted Sebastian 1,338 votes* • Emma Kallaway/Getachew Kassa 827* • Nick Schultz/Lidiana Soto 624 • Carina Miller/Nick Gower 534 • Ryan McCarrel/Ian Baldwin 125 • Write-in 119 * Candidate advances to the general election |
To former ASUO Senate President Athan Papailiou, the election results vindicated the policies enacted by Oregon Action Team after its victories in the 2008 election. Papailiou was a driving force behind that success and has been involved with the campaign this year, too.
"ASUO has come a long way," Papailiou said. "The tides have turned from an era of a culture of corruption to where we have achieved real victories for students."
In the aftermath of the results, Miller and McCarrel came out in support of Kallaway. "We're just going to go out and endorse the people we believe in," Miller said, "and that includes Emma and (running mate) Getachew (Kassa)."
Write-in candidates
| - | Anyone Who Will Lower My Incidental Fee Athan Popawellio Captian Morgan Chilly-Willy!!! The Disc Golf Team Deez Nutz Dog Shit Dont Give A Rats Ass Dr. Dickballstein Guam Hairy Vag Jesus Guy The Hamburgaler Imma Drunk. Lizard People Maguyver Merlin Mum None Of The Above Not A-Robb. This Guy Is A Clown. Peter Pan Sam Dotterz Ratz Samual Adams Smeagol That Guy Truman Capps Van Halen Walter Cronkite |
McCarrel echoed Miller's opinion. "Emma's ability to inspire volunteers and voters at potentially no benefit to themselves is a mark of true leadership," McCarrel said. "Her campaign was run ethically and on the foundation of constructive ideas."
Papailiou sneered at other campaigns' support for Kallaway. "That's not much of a surprise," he said. "They've been issuing press releases and having meetings all week together."
Schultz, who finished third, said he had not decided whom to support. "I'll be observing who the students select," he said. However, his campaign manager Daniel Ronan said he would be working with Kallaway and Kassa.
News Editor Robert D'Andrea contributed to this report.
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