The results of the 2006 Student Government elections were announced last night in the Tavern amidst controversy over violation of Board of Election sanctions.
Charges were brought against presidential candidate Ashley Mushnick, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and president of the College Democrats, for violating sanctions imposed last week that required her to end her campaign seven hours earlier than the other candidates. Last night's sanction was the result of a Facebook.com flyer that was still running after the 10 a.m. deadline. Mushnick was found responsible, and will be penalized half the allocations in her next SG race. Mushnick won the race with 50.4 percent of the vote.
"The whole experience of participating in this election totally opened my eyes to a different sphere of AU," Mushnick said after the results were announced. "It was the most exciting experience I've had as a student at AU."
The vice presidential race between two Class of 2008 senators, Pat McGill and Katie Myers, resulted in a run-off election. McGill and Myers will be able to campaign Thursday and voting will take place Friday.
Robert Donigian, a junior in the Kogod School of Business, won the comptroller race with 58.9 percent of the vote.
Donigian said he is excited about working with the newly elected executives and hopes to accomplish a lot during his tenure as comptroller.
Carrie Johnson, a freshman in SPA, won the secretarial race with 42.8 percent of the vote.
"I'm looking forward to this coming year, working for the newly elected executives," Johnson said of being elected. "Even going into it, I knew that all the campaigns would've made excellent secretaries. The university would've benefited regardless of who won."
A record number of students voted in the Student Government elections this year, with more than 1,800 students casting votes in the executive races.
The race for Class of 2009 president ended in a win for Andrew Gardner, who participated in a BOE hearing regarding allegations of campaigning violations. Gardner and Vice Presidential candidate Samya Behary were accused of campaigning Wednesday on the Quad, passing out "Be Ballsy" shirts to help save the tennis teams.
"I am confident," Behary said before the hearing. "I know we did nothing wrong."
Michael Short, a freshman in SPA and Gardner's competitor, said before the hearing, "The campaign rules must be upheld."
Staff Writer Josh Goodman contributed to this article.
