By Erin Ratigan/tr news editor
Antonio Mercado and Elizabeth Gonzalez won the positions of president and vice president in the TR Campus Student Government Association elections April 9.
Both Adrian Vasquez and Mason Perkey were elected senators at large, and Muhummed Benson defeated his opponent Samantha Wedgeworth in the race for secretary.
Two hundred and forty-three students voted April 7-8 through electronic ballots sent automatically to TR students’ emails.
Benson said his victory is bittersweet.
“I feel bad,” Benson said. “Samantha’s really good, and she was really looking forward to getting involved.”
Still, Benson said he is glad to have this opportunity.
“It’s going to be a really good experience,” he said.
Student development associate Eddie Brassart said the race for secretary was difficult because both candidates were equally qualified.
“Either one of those students would have been great in this position,” he said.
Brassart said both candidates’ levels of involvement proved their dedication to the group. He said their drive was what set the winners apart.
“[Those who] did everything we told them to do to apply … I think that shows they wanted that position,” he said.
Cortney Walden was elected senate chair and said she looks forward to taking on her new duties, allowing her to build on her strengths.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I was running unopposed, but I’m excited to be able to use the skills that I’ve learned while being in the senate.”
Brassart said he was disappointed in the number of votes cast, saying he hopes voting numbers increase in future semesters.
“It wasn’t a great turnout, but it stacked up to elections we’ve done in the past where we did paper ballots,” Brassart said. “Moving forward, we’re going to work harder to promote it to the campus.”
He said one of the reasons behind the low turnout was how few candidates ran.
In the future, he said more students will likely run for SGA positions, which will enable the SGA to hold debates to attract voters’ attention.
“We’re still a baby SGA, so it’s going to take a while to really get the name out there,” he said. “We’ll get there one day.”
