Zachary Garcia, a senior political science major, was elected as an Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senator to fill an empty seat, USG announced at a senate meeting on Sept. 23.
The announcement comes after a three-day special election which concluded on Sept. 12. The special election was held after USG Senator Dakota Driemayer resigned from the position to work on a political campaign in Illinois.
The nine candidates all ran their campaign through social media, in-person networking, and the USG Instagram, posting their campaign platform as well as a personal candidate statement.
Garcia heavily attributed the success of his campaign to “placing an emphasis on expressing [his] personality.”
He said he attempted to bring a smile to those he spoke with and added “a little speck of humor” on his social media platform, something he believes took him far.
Through his campaign, Garcia said he shook “600 plus hands around campus,” and was able to hear some students’ stories by meeting them face to face.
The senior, who was formerly a student senator at Pepperdine University, looks to implement EBT payment options at dining halls and other food outlets on campus, a goal he was able to accomplish at Pepperdine during his term.
The election results were originally set to be announced at last Tuesday’s weekly senate meeting, but were delayed due to a USG judicial trial involving one of the candidates.
The trial found candidate Landon Lagesen guilty of violating three sections of USG’s Elections Code, after another student solicited votes for him in exchange for entrance to a fraternity event.
Despite another individual soliciting the votes, the USG Judicial Council said “Lagesen had the responsibility to ensure that those supporting his campaign should do so in accordance with the election code.”
Lagesen was consequently disqualified from the special election. He received the fourth most votes, though the ballots in his favor were not considered in the final results.
Nonetheless, USG Chief Justice Ryan Tung announced at the senate meeting that the special election far surpassed last year’s election turnout. He said there was a “major uptick in the number of votes that Senators receive overall in our election,” with “1480 votes cast this election cycle compared to around under 1000.”
Tung attributed the increase in ballots to “a testament to all of the candidates here… who really showed their passion for engaging the students.” He looks to replicate the large voter turnout in the general election, hoping to “make the general election as big as it can be.”
Tung said he was “really proud with how the candidates reached out to students, engaged with students.”
The new senator received 340 votes, accounting for 23% of the total vote.
Looking towards the future, Garcia says that he intends to continue his optimistic attitude and hopes to carry his friendly humor “for the rest of my life.”