All 12 candidates have run uncontested in this year’s 2026-27 elections for the undergraduate Student Association Senate. The candidates took office as soon as results were announced on Sep. 18.
The election for the 12 Senate seats available ran from Sep. 14 to 18, with the SA 2026-27 presidential election held at the same time. The two elections brought in a total of 3,408 students, according to SA Elections and Credentials Chair Tala Al-Khaouli.
This year’s number of candidates was lower than last year’s, with 20 candidates in contention for a 2025-26 Senate term.
SA 2026-27 Treasurer Laron Fomby says it is not unusual for senate elections to have very few candidates, and this year’s turnout was actually better than previous years. He cited the Senate’s 2024-25 elections which had only seven candidates.
“It is not unusual,” Fomby told The Spectrum. “It all depends on the year.”
There were also a few potential candidates that missed this year’s submission deadline and did not run as a result, Fomby said.
Mei Lien Szumigala led this year’s race with 1,003 votes.
The two parties in the race — “UB Fresh Faces” and “Unity4UB” — snagged seats as well.
Freshmen Bruce Revels and Malloree Marshall will be fresh faces in this year’s SA Senate per their “UB Fresh Faces” party motto with Revels having 932 votes and Marshall 836.
In the “Unity4UB” party, Vivianna Ricci, Philip Ouma, Adam Brennan — in addition to this fall’s presidential candidate Aidan Thomas — filled out the rest of the top spots. Ricci secured 872, Ouma with 847, Brennan with 798 and Thomas with 838.
Thomas was defeated in the special presidential election by Charlene Okine, trailing 422 votes behind.
Thomas, who also served as last year’s Senate chairperson, says that regardless of the presidential election’s outcome, he still has plans for SA.
“I intend to execute on them,” Thomas told The Spectrum. “I’m looking forward to working with my fellow senators to instill the same oversight and accountability.”
Aeaad Alawaad will be returning for a second term, receiving 634 votes.
Independent candidates John Florentino, Evan Schirrmacher, Fei Ji and Kevin Battles fill out the last four places. Florentino had 582 votes; Schirrmacher with 520; Ji with 513; and Battles with 507.
Logan Carlin contributed to the reporting of this article.
Aiden Dickerson is the senior news editor and can be reached at aiden.dickerson@ubspectrum.com.
Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
