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Treasurer race to go to runoff vote
Other positions elected with decisive margins
Andrew Young and Chelsie French
Junior Kelsie Johnson was named Student Government Association president Wednesday by a difference of 418 votes, but treasurer candidates junior Greg Hamre and sophomore Marlon Figueroa are heading into a runoff election Thursday.
Sophomore Matt Dietrichson was elected vice president with 1,760 votes against junior Matt Williams, who got 870 votes. Sophomore Kennedy Stewart, who ran unopposed, was elected Programming Council chair.
Almost 300 votes separated Figueroa and Hamre, who led with 1,403 votes. The third treasurer candidate, sophomore Ryan Hoff, garnered 281 votes. To be elected, a candidate must have at least 50 percent of the vote, and Hamre had about 48 percent of the vote.
Runoff voting for treasurer starts at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and will close at noon Friday.
Joey Parr, chair of the Elections and Regulations Committee, announced election results to about 30 people outside the Brown-Lupton University Union at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Parr said 2,903 votes were cast during the election, which means about 38 percent of the undergraduate student body participated.
Johnson said campaigning was the "hardest and best thing" she has ever done. She said her first act as student body president will be to pardon her former opponent, junior Kelly Barnes, for his campaigning violation. Barnes was fined $75 for soliciting votes within 50 feet of three computers, which is a violation of the Student Body Code.
Dietrichson said among the things he plans to do is to add options for the meal plan and improve parking efficiency.
Hamre said he feels that a runoff is fair because even though he received the most votes out of the three treasurer candidates, he did not receive a majority vote.
"I hope the vote goes the same way that it did the first time around," Hamre said.
Figueroa said the runoff is exciting because both candidates have to prove themselves again. It will make the election better, he said.
"I would have liked to win out, but this will make me work harder," Figueroa said.
SGA Election Results
President
Kelsie Johnson: 1,633
Kelly Barnes: 1,215
Vice President
Matt Dietrichson: 1,760
Matt Williams: 870
Treasurer
Greg Hamre: 1,403
Marlon Figueroa: 1,125
Ryan Hoff 281
Programming Council Chair
Kennedy Stewart: 2,470
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