The Action campaign party crowded the balcony of Charlie Pepper’s Wednesday night. Action senator hopefuls and supporters kept gazing down Cumberland Avenue hoping to see their presidential and vice presidential candidates arriving with good news. For the Action campaign, it was worth the wait.
The 2007-08 Student Government Association president and vice-president winners are John Rader and Anna York. With Rader winning 2,897 of the total 6,479 votes and York garnering more than 2,877 votes, they returned to their friends to celebrate their victory.
“Anna and I would like to thank you for all the hard work you have done. We just dominated the elections,” Rader said. The place erupted with cheers and high fives.
Action won the majority of senatorial seats and secured nearly a thousand more votes than the second-place party.
“We could not have done this without you all. It was so special to work with so many hardworking people who believed in us. I am beside myself,” he said.
York took the floor, standing amongst friends, and said she could not have accomplished much without their support.
“You are the best group. We worked our butts off showing them what is up. This is only the beginning. I want you to prepare yourself because next year will be the best year of your life,” York said.
Freshman Council Chair Zak Kelley, a newly-elected senator representing the College of Arts and Sciences, said Rader and York won because of all the work they put into their campaign.
“John and Anna are harder workers with better ideas than the other candidates,” Kelley said.
Since the campaign is over, it is time to reap the rewards, the Action campaign manager Will Trohanis said.
“This couldn’t be better. It is nice to be on top and now we just get to enjoy the rewards for all the hard work,” Trohanis said, as the jukebox played Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”
Rader and York cannot wait to continue the work of the current SGA administration and to implement their own plans for the next year, they said.
“We will capitalize on our Five-Point Policy pushing to make the new year the best we can for students,” Rader said.
Action’s Five-Point Policy is leadership experience, promoting diversity, bettering student life, campus beautification and uniting student organizations.
“I’m getting excited about the next year. We will start with Orientation, getting the incoming freshmen involved with SGA and the university,” York said.
Meanwhile, across the street, supporters rallied around Vols Unite candidates Jon Papaik and Keaton Williams, greeting them with a raucous round of applause and cheers of encouragement as they entered Buffalo Wild Wings on the Strip, where their post-election party was held.
“We had a great week,” Papaik said, addressing the crowd. “I couldn’t ask for a better crowd to be with.”
In the unofficial tally following the election, Papaik received 1,959 votes while Williams received 1,945.
Despite the defeat, there was reason for encouragement, with Vols Unite picking up 10 Student Senate seats, according to the preliminary results.
“We had a moral victory and I think everyone in this room shows it,” Papaik said.
For the Students for a Just University campaign, presidential candidate Brian May said he was cautiously optimistic before the results were announced but was not surprised by his third place finish.
“It’s difficult to win when you’re outspent by 10 to 20 times,” May said.
According to the latest Campaign Value Report, released Monday, Vols Unite’s expenditures totaled $4,759.94, Action’s spending had totaled $3,833.88 while SJU had spent $593.95.
May said he expects SJU to run in future SGA elections and he was pleased by the four senatorial seats the party won.
“The good of this was to get some people in the Senate that can address issues that we find important,” May said.
The Election Commission also announced Wednesday night that first-year law student Nicholas Cook was elected president of the Graduate Student Senate, receiving 262 of the 280 votes.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity before me. It’s an honor and a privilege to represent the many fine graduate students at UT. The graduate students at UT are a caring, intelligent and passionate group of individuals, and I hope to represent them in that same manner,” Cook said.
A run-off election will be held for GSS vice president between Telford Forgety and James Devita, who tied with 19 votes each.
The referendum to make Director of Student Services an elected position passed with 5,024 votes.
– Staff writers Kevin Dalby, Charlie Smith and Will Woodbery contributed reporting to this story.
