Mistry
replaces Pollock, Okahana re-elected
By
Allison Baldwin
And Joseph Serna
Online Forty-Niner
After the votes from the Associated Students Inc. run-off elections were tallied,
Shefali Mistry and Hironao Okahana celebrated their elections as ASI president
and vice president for the 2006-07 term.
Mistry, a senator for the College of the Arts, came from behind to edge out current
ASI President Jamie Pollock. Pollock came out of the first election ahead of
Mistry with 49.2 percent of the vote, just missing the 50 percent-plus-one majority
she needed to win another term in office. Mistry came out with 34.7 percent.
When the results of the run-off election came in, Mistry slid by with 609 votes,
or 50.9 percent of the electorate. She had 23 more votes than Pollock.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Mistry said. “It was
so close.”
The final result in the race between current ASI Vice President Okahana and Sen.
Juancarlos Mariano, College of Business, was even closer. Okahana came out of
the first election with 48.8 percent of the vote. He won the run-off election
with 590 votes, or 50.1 percent of the electorate, just four more votes than
Mariano’s 586.
“I’m grateful students gave me another year to return to what I’ve
been doing,” Okahana said. “I’m going to continue what I’ve
been doing for the remaining six weeks and then prepare for next semester.”
About half, or 1,206 voters, in the electorate from the original ASI election
voted in the run-off elections, which take place for any position where no one
wins with a simple majority.
Pending a recount for the vice presidential seat, the four executive officers
of ASI are as follows:President
Shefali Mistry; Vice President Hironao Okahana, Treasurer Zaira Tinoco, Chief
of Staff to-be-announced by Mistry.
All ASI elected officials begin their terms June 1.
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