Ettman ’13, Easop ’13 enter runoff

USG presidential candidates Bruce Easop ’13 and Catherine Ettman ’13 will enter a run-off race for the position, USG president Michael Yaroshefsky ’12 announced in an email sent out to the student body on Friday evening.

Ettman received 1,067 votes, or 48.41 percent of the total cast for president — just short of the simple majority needed to win. Easop received 754 votes, or 34.21 percent. The run-off race will run from Monday to Wednesday.

The third presidential candidate, Shikha Uberoi ’13, received 383 votes, or 17.38 percent of the total. She will not be participating in the runoff.

Ettman is the current USG vice president, and Easop is currently a Class of 2013 senator.

According to Yaroshefsky’s email, a record 2,327 students voted in this year’s winter USG elections.

“It’s exciting to have a second chance in an election with record-breaking voter turnout,” Easop said in an email Sunday afternoon.

He added that students were “really receptive to the idea that USG should focus on projects that only students know how to fix,” and said that he will continue to meet with students in preparation for the runoffs because “this is a great opportunity to take the time to listen.”

Meanwhile, Ettman said in an email she felt happy with the results of the election and was excited for the runoff. She said she hoped students will vote in high numbers again in the runoff, and that they “continue to feel engaged and connected to the USG after the election is over.”

“Getting students more engaged with the USG is one of my biggest goals,” she said.

Uberoi did not respond to a request for comment.

There will also be a run-off election for the position of campus and community affairs chair between Caroline Hanamirian ’13 and Carmina Mancenon ’14. Hanamirian received 567 votes, or 29.35 percent of the total, while Mancenon received 873 votes, or 45.19 percent of the total.

Hanamirian explained in an email that the success of her campaign came from “honest dialogue” and “practical business,” noting that she went “store to store on Nassau Street ... having frank conversations with local entrepreneurs” in order to secure discounts for students.

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“The bottom line is that as much as students want to promote local prosperity, shopping on Nassau has to be made more affordable,” she said.

Mancenon said in an email that she felt honored to be part of the run-off election.

“I didn’t expect to advance with such a large margin of votes,” she said. “I did my best to reach students and hear their feedback on my platform, whether that was through my website or personally.”

A third candidate — current USG executive secretary John McNamara — received 492 votes, or 25.47 percent, and was eliminated from the race.

“I hope to remain involved in the USG. It is a great organization filled with very talented people,” McNamara said in an email.

The races for vice president and treasurer were extremely contested.

Current campus and community affairs chair Stephen Stolzenberg ’13 won the vice presidency with 1,015 votes, or 50.55 percent, just over the simple majority needed. His opponent and current U-Council chair Merik Mulcahy ’13 received 993 votes, or 49.45 percent.

“I was ecstatic to find out that I’d won the election, particularly such a close one,” Stolzenberg said in an email. He noted he “chose to run a very personal campaign” with “person-to-person interaction” created by campaigning door-to-door.

“It makes the candidate more than just a name on the page,” he explained.

“I am so glad for the opportunity to run and contribute to the discussion in this campaign, and I appreciate the support of everyone who voted for me,” Mulcahy said in an email. He noted, however, that he wished “more students would have come to the debate.”

“One unfortunate reality is that there is a significant portion of students who I never was able to reach in a meaningful way,” he said.

Incumbent Lillian Cartwright ’14 won the position of treasurer with 1,013 votes, or 52.46 percent of the votes, while fellow candidate Dylan Ackerman ’14 received 918 votes, or 47.54 percent of the total.

In an email, Cartwright said she felt honored for having been reelected. “However, such close numbers really show me that there is much I can improve upon in the coming year to gain a larger majority,” she added. She also apologized for “any negative opinions that may have gotten out regarding my opponent.”

Ackerman did not respond to a request for comment.

The two spots for Class of 2014 senator went to incumbent Dillon Sharp and USG projects manager Charissa Shen. Sharp received 355 votes, while Shen received 310. Candidate Lisa Femia was eliminated with 150 votes.

“I feel great about being re-elected,” Sharp said in an email. He explained that while he had been unable to do any door-to-door campaigning because of academic commitments, he felt he “had a strong online presence.”

Shen said in an email she felt extremely excited to have won. “If you were to refer back to last year’s article about how I lost by one vote, you’d see that I felt my loss had a deeper religious meaning, and I still feel that way,” she said.

“This year, I felt differently going into the race — that this is where God wanted me my sophomore year,” Shen added.

Fifteen freshmen ran for the position of Class of 2015 senator. The two winners, Deana Davoudiasl and Shawon Jackson, were the only two candidates to break 200 votes. Davoudiasl received 292 votes while Jackson received 254 votes.

Davoudiasl said in an email she was “excited to hear about the really interesting and diverse ideas her classmates had to share.”

Meanwhile, Jackson said in an email he felt privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know many new people personally.

“Given that 15 people ran, I am so humbled by the fact that I had so much support from the freshman class,” he said. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank the Class of 2015 for this tremendous opportunity.”

The following candidates won their positions in uncontested elections: incumbent Steven Rosen ’13 for academics chair, incumbent Aditya Rajagopalan ’13 for Undergraduate Life Committee chair and incumbent Andrew Blumenfeld and USG chief designer Erin Byrne for Class of 2013 senators.