USG announces election runoffs

Juniors Matt Margolin and Jacqui Perlman will compete for USG president in a runoff election beginning this afternoon while sophomores Shaun Callaghan and Frances Schendle will face off for vice president.

Margolin garnered 33 percent of the first round vote, or 848 votes, while Perlman came in second with 18 percent, or 463 votes. About 2,500 students voted in the first election, which lasted from Sunday morning to yesterday morning.

Finishing third in the presidential race was Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06 with 398 votes, followed by Amy Saltzman '05 with 380 votes, Gabe Doyle '05 with 232 votes, and Jonathan Chavkin '05 with 215 votes.

A runoff election is automatically scheduled when no candidate receives a majority. Students can cast their votes online beginning at 1 p.m. today and ending at 12:59 p.m. tomorrow.

A U-Councilor since last spring, Margolin's campaign focused on goals including reforming the advising system, bringing minority groups together in more social settings and recruiting minority professors.

Perlman trails Margolin by about the same margin as the one current USG president Pettus Randall '04 overcame in last year's runoff election.

"I'm thrilled to have made it this far," Perlman said. "I am campaigning very hard and will try to meet as many faces as I can."

Perlman is USG vice president and was executive secretary her freshman year. She says her experience will help her accomplish her goals.

She said she would like to provide financial aid for students to join eating clubs to ensure students are not barred from joining because of financial reasons. She also emphasized the need for more student group funding for club sports and student art groups.

Vice president

In the vice-presidential race, Schendle received 923, or 39 percent, of the total 2,369 votes cast. Callaghan received the second most votes with 828, or 34 percent. He was followed by John Jacobson '06 with 433 votes and then Dylan Stamer '06 with 185 votes.

Callaghan said he was "cautiously optimistic" about his chances in the runoff.

After serving for a year in the USG as executive secretary, an appointed position, Callaghan feels his experience will enable him to "hit the ground running."

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Improving social alternatives to the Street, especially for minority groups on campus, is one of his major campaign proposals, he said. "Not at the expense of the Street, but in unison with it," he added.

"Things will be tough," Schendle said. "I've been through this before. I'm not taking anything for granted but I'm optimistic."

Schendle's campaign has focused on promoting dialogue on race, making USG more accountable and helping class senators pursue projects more efficiently.

Robinson said there was a higher voter turnout in the runoffs last year than in the first round of elections. As for this year, he was very pleased with the voter turnout for the first round.

"I hope everyone votes for their candidate [in the runoffs]," he said. "The elections are still up in the air."