Nick Johns feels like he is sitting "at the top of the world."
The Student Association office exploded in cheers on Thursday night; Johns led the pack of vocal celebrators as the Spirit Party swept the elections for SA's new executive board.
Johns, a sophomore and president-elect, embraced the members of his e-board in a rush of excitement, bursting at the realization his entire party, including delegates, was elected for the 2013-14 academic year.
Just over 14 percent of UB's undergraduate population showed up at the polls, and the referendum vote for SA to continue to seek incorporation passed with an overwhelming majority.
Johns and his running mate, Lyle Selsky, received 380 more votes than their competitors, the Forward Party, headed by presidential candidate Carson Ciggia. Spirit earned 1,460 votes, while Forward trailed behind with 1,080 votes. Siddhant Chhabria of Spirit won the treasurer position by a smaller margin of 153 votes, receiving 1,334, to his Forward competitor Joshua Fromm's 1,181 votes.
"We worked as one united front and we won as one united front," Selsky said.
Johns stood elated and said winning felt "unbelievable" as he struggled to find the words to articulate his exuding joy.
Johns wants students to know, even as president, he is going to remain an everyday student.
"I'm going to remain one of you," Johns said. "I'm not going to change my views. I'm not going to change how I operate or how I go about life. It's just going to be in a much more public spot."
Both Selksy and Johns encouraged students to start coming to them with ideas, even though their inauguration isn't until May 1.
For Chhabria, the win is a few-days-early 21st birthday present.
Chhabria's candidacy was met with some controversy when Fromm brought up Chhabria's two-time dismissal as a bookkeeper in SA's finance department at the debate last week.
"It was politics," Chhabria explained. "It was a game. I came through; I stuck strong ... Everybody, whether they were my supporters or Josh's supporters, no matter what controversies that went on, everything is in the past according to me. It's just a new start for me from now on."
Christian Andzel, who ran on Forward's ticket as vice president, said "the establishment won." He said the "engrained" and "in-bred special interest" won the election. Students chose the "status quo," he said.
A dejected Ciggia, who admitted he had broken down twice before talking to The Spectrum, said he doesn't "know where to go from here" and is unsure about his future in SA. He feels "SA is unfortunately corrupt."
"I, at the beginning of the year, had the chance to align myself with [SA President] Travis Nemmer and get Travis Nemmer's votes," Ciggia said. "I could have easily been 'Nick Johns' because Nick Johns is a poster; Nick Johns is not a leader. I could have been that easily. Travis invited me to be 'Nick' but what I did was aligned myself with Justin Neuwirt, because Justin always stands up for what's right."
Ciggia doesn't expect much to change within the organization next year and said "people who know people will get jobs."
Johns described the Forward candidates as great leaders who are hardworking and ambitious. He said when filling positions in his term, he will take a "bipartisan standpoint" and see where resumes fit the best. "We want to create unity, not division," Johns said.
Johns is already at an advantage in achieving "unity," with all four of his delegate candidates winning spots to represent students in Albany at the SUNY level. Mohammad Alwaihaidy, a junior, Abby LaPlaca, a sophomore, Hayley Ross, a sophomore and Aminat Seriki, a sophomore, will be the 2013-14 delegates.
Chhabria is thrilled with the sweeping victory and anticipates working with all the delegates next semester.
"I know I did work with these guys so well, and it's just going to be so much more effective working with people you started out with," Chhabria said.
Ciggia was disappointed to lose by a few hundred votes, and he feels those votes came from people "scooted into the voter booth."
Ciggia also worries about the future of SA and what is going to happen "down the road."
"At the end of the day, SA is taking $4 million in student funds and having kids basically say where it goes," Ciggia said. "For me, from my perspective, it's actually kind of scary. It's great we have events and things ... [but] I think from the university's perspective especially, and the economy and being strapped for cash, I feel like maybe SA will be examined in the next few years."
Johns and Selksy, however, are excited for the future and admitted they were going to celebrate the victory by sleeping.
"We started from 'the bottom up,'" Selsky said. Spirit started in SA as freshmen, joining clubs as its base and now the new-elects are sitting proud "at the top," aiming to make SA "even better."
Additional reporting by Managing Editor Rebecca Bratek
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
