Tim Ngwena has swept to victory in the presidential elections, in what is being seen as a rejection by voters of the perceived ‘YUSU clique’. YUSU well-established names lost out, giving a fresh face to the new executive. YUSU heavyweights Tom Langrish, Rory Shanks and Ed Durkin all failed to impress students, while over a quarter of voters chose RON over the ubiquitous Jason Rose and his running mate Chris Ethridge. The elections saw one of the largest student voter turnouts in the country, with around 24% of students taking part. Vision brings you all the results, reactions and rumours from elections night…
PRESIDENT
The presidential race came down to close competition between Ngwena and Langrish, with Ngwena just sneaking ahead to the win. He thinks his victory is down to his strength as an individual: “I’m not just about policies – students can relate to me.”
Ngwena’s label as an ‘outsider’ to the YUSU clique has arguably been one of his greatest selling points to students. However, the Fusion president is keen to point out that this does not mean he is any less experienced than his rival Langrish: “I’m no out-sider to the Union itself, I know a lot about how YUSU works. Experience can be picked up quickly as I have shown time and time again.”
Once in office the President Elect promises to “get to know the job, get to know the sabbs and make sure we are presenting a united front, make sure we are working as a Union.”
Unsuccessful candidate Tom Langrish left the event looking absolutely gutted. He later confessed: “The last two weeks have been the culmination of an ambition that I have held for longer than I care to admit.” He added: “Last week the students decided that they wanted Tim to be our next President. For that reason (and because he is a great guy) I offer my sincerest congratulations.”
The other two losers appeared less disappointed. Heavily inebriated (and extremely tall) Charles Bushby said: “I didn’t get in it to win it, I’m here to open people’s eyes.” Grant Bradley admitted that he and Bushby did not have much of a chance against Ngwena and Langrish, but insisted that “this is not the end of my YUSU involvement.” He said that he had run because he believed that YUSU “can head towards autocratic management.”
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
One of the big surprises of the results night! Current YUSU sabbatical Rory Shanks was voted out after re-running for the same position. He was beaten by rival Rhianna Kinchin who scored 57% of the vote.
Shanks told Vision he accepted defeat, saying “I feel fine, I feel indifferent.” But he added, “It’s a very challenging job. I hope she does a good job.”
The elected Student Activities Officer Rhianna Kinchin revealed: “I don’t know how on earth I won, I just worked so hard!” She reassured students about concerns that Kid’s Camp may be in danger of neglect next year, telling Vision: “I’ll make sure it gets the attention it deserves.”
DEMOCRACY AND SERVICES
YUSU big cheese Ed Durkin was knocked out by Lewis ‘Fruit & Veg’ Bretts. After two years of Matt Burton’s handy work as Services & Finance officer, Bretts will have large boots to fill.
Bretts told Vision: “I’m going to carry on some of his work and do some things differently.” Bretts’ successful campaign, based on promises of a fresh fruit-and-veg stall and temporary cash points, gave him a victory of 1199 votes to second place Durkin’s 800 votes. “I was particularly impressed with George’s [Papadofragakis] campaign,” Bretts revealed. “[David] Sharp was a little policy light I feel, but all the candidates did a great job.” But he added: “right now I’m just going to line up some sambucas at the bar.”
WELFARE
Another tight race with Ben Humphreys’ prominent position as LGBT Officer perhaps just swinging the victory his way. His policies on greater accessibility improved accommodation standards and getting a GUM clinic on campus have also proved popular.
Matthew Pallas suffered another disappointing year, having also lost out on the position of Academic and Welfare Officer in 2008. “I’m ok with losing, I’ve done it before,” he said. He also revealed that he will not be having another crack at student politics next year, instead he will be moving in with disgraced ex-sabb Grace Fletcher Hackwood to study to be a primary school teacher in Manchester.
Tanning Soc.’s Jenny Coyle, who had been tipped as a dark horse to win, was in floods of tears at her defeat. However, as expected, she received the most amount of Vanbrugh votes, proving her huge popularity within her own college.
ACADEMIC
Unopposed Charlie Leyland will be staying on at YUSU for her second year as Academic Officer.
Stumbling up the stage after the victory was announced, Leyland merrily told students “Thank you so much everyone. I will do you proud.” She will be one of the few YUSU crew who students have not had enough of.
LGBT–
The closest race of the night was for LGBT Officers, with only two votes separating the top candidates. Elanin Vince and Peter Medley beat Mandi Madavo and James Ball by the tiniest of margins and admitted it had been far from easy to beat their rivals. “It’s been so close. Every day this past week we have had to be up and out, making sure we were smiling and giving out leaflets,” says Vince. “We were constantly having to work out how to counteract what they [Madavo and Ball] were doing.”
However, the tight contest has raised concerns that the LGBT community might not unite behind the victorious candidates. “We are not sure if there will be trouble,” says Medley. “I think there might be tension but not a split.” He added: “The issue at heart is welfare. I’m sure people will recognise that and know it is important.”
SPORT
Emily Scott gained a convincing victory as York Sport President, gaining more than 600 votes more than her closest rival, Gemma Johnson. Scott made an emotional and teary speech and admitted that her win was down to her ‘strong campaign team… I think we were the first to get our posters out.” See Sport pages for the full story.