By Rachel Carasso and David J. Cieslak
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 5, 1998

Taylor tops Williams

A charged crowd enveloped an overwhelmed Tara Taylor last night as she learned she captured 56.88 percent of the vote Tuesday and yesterday to defeat Patrick Williams and become ASUA's next president.

Taylor's supporters buried her with hugs and congratulations as her opponent, Patrick Williams, a communication and marketing senior, bolted for the door when the results were announced about 9 p.m. at Gentle Ben's Brewing Co., 865 E. University Blvd.

Heat lamps on the balcony proved unnecessary as emotions and temperatures were already high for the 150 nervous candidates and supporters who gathered for the announcement.

"I'm overwhelmed and thankful," said Taylor, a political science and public management junior, who defeated Williams by a 1,708 to 1,295 vote.

"I'm so grateful for everything and everyone that supported me," she added.

Cisco Aguilar put a cigar in his mouth and bounced up and down with his supporters when he heard he had defeated Mary Brandenberger in the race for executive vice president, 1,833 to 1,128.

"I'm going to Disneyland," joked Aguilar, an accounting and finance junior, after learning he won.

After the initial shock, Aguilar said he wanted to thank everybody for voting.

"The students better hold us to it," he said. "I'm a student all the way."

Brandenberger, a junior studying journalism and English, was disappointed, but had a positive attitude about her campaign.

"It was a good fight," she said. "It was the last thing I had to do, and I gave it all I had."

Ryan Rosensteel defeated Jason Hand to become next year's administrative vice president.

"I'm really excited, and I hope not to let the students down," said Rosensteel, a molecular and cellular biology and political science sophomore.

Even though Hand lost to Rosensteel 1,815 to 942, Hand was cordial and the two wished each other well.

"I think Ryan will do a good job," said Hand, a mechanical engineering junior.

"He's a great guy," Rosensteel said about Hand. "I'm sure I'll see him in ASUA next year."

Senate candidate Emily Dunn captured 1,291 votes - the most of all 17 contenders.

Although Dunn, a marketing and finance junior, placed first in the primary election, she was surprised by her general election finish.

"I thought my odds of being that high were very slim," Dunn said. "I had a lot of supporters, though."

Janet Rico, a political science and communication junior, said she was overwhelmed by her second-place finish.

"It's a nice feeling," Rico said.

Associated Students President Gilbert Davidson said he is prepared to turn over the presidential title to Taylor when she is sworn in May 1, but not without some sentimentality.

"I'm sad to be leaving, but I am very proud of the candidates that were elected," Davidson said. "I thought the races would be closer, though."

Elections Commissioner Marcos Hernandez said he was glad the elections went well.

"I was happy to see that potential voters were asking questions of the candidates," Hernandez said.

During the two-day general elections, 3,249 ballots were cast at four polling places - 430 less than last year.

More juniors voted than any other class. Most of the voters live in residence halls, were between ages 20 and 23 and said they were most concerned with tuition, according to demographic statistics compiled from ballot questions.

As the crowd dispersed, Assistant Elections Commissioner Robert Sandoval put a cap on this year's race.

"Everyone worked hard and deserves a pat on the back," Sandoval said.

President

*Tara Taylor

1,708 56.88%

 

Patrick Williams

1,295 43.12%

Executive Vice President

*Cisco Aguilar

1,833 61.90%

 

Mary Brandenberger

1,128 38.10%

Administrative Vice President

*Ryan Rosensteel

1,815 65.83%

 

Jason Hand

942 34.17%

Senate

*Emily Dunn 1,291

*Janet Rico 1,217

*Marisa Hall 1,023

*Benjamin Graff 979

*Ty Trujillo 961

*Maria Ridriguez 943

*Ferdie Echiverri 926

*David Snyder 908

*Mai Luc 889

*Josué Limón 887

Ben Lopez 867

Jon Fine 861

Jeff Fields 856

Brett Suma 638

Michael Dobbs 584

Eric Hochstatter 574

Travis Klein 525

* denotes elected candidates