A team of Associated Students Inc. candidates who campaigned together also won together, sweeping three executive positions on April 16.
Lone ASI presidential candidate James Ahumada won with 100 percent of the vote while his running mates — Lucy Nguyen and Jameson Nyeholt — won vice president with 64 percent and treasurer with 69 percent.
The trio stood, arm-in-arm with Nguyen in the middle at the University Student Union’s Southwest terrace, as they waited for the results to be announced. First, senatorial and other position winner were announced. Finally, the time came for the announcement of ASI’s executive positions.
After hearing he won the treasurer position, Nyeholt received a pat on the back and a hug from Nguyen. After hearing her name announced for vice president, Nguyen gave a hug to Ahumada, and again after Ahumada was announced as ASI president-elect.
“Our team comes from a lot of different backgrounds,” Nguyen said. “James [Ahumada] is very Greek-oriented. I’m very business and student organization oriented. Jameson [Nyeholt] is very involved with liberal arts; very academic.”
After the announcements ended, Jason Aula — who ran for ASI treasurer after dropping out of the presidential race — walked up to Nyeholt and gave him a handshake.
“I didn’t expect to win by 69 percent of the vote,” Nyeholt said. “I have to owe that to the people who investigated all the candidates.”
“I really think that we had a steady campaign the entire way through,” Ahumada said. “There were some controversies, but we never let that distract us.”
Aula had called for Ahumada to be disqualified from the race. After Ahumada became the lone candidate for president, Aula said that people associated with Ahumada plotted to “slim down candidates for ASI president.”
Ahumada and others implicated in the so-called plot denied Aula’s charges. Aula even said “there’s no proof” that two of Ahumada’s ASI colleagues, whom Aula implicated in the plot, conspired to get Ahumada elected.
“We tried to focus on talking to student organizations … getting endorsements, really not getting distracted with the little things that people try to create a ruckus about,” Ahumada said.
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