GLICKMAN'S THE ONE

ONE Party candidate Steve Glickman was declared winner of the SGA presidential election Friday afternoon, and his party took three of the four executive positions.

Elliot Morris and Shelly Cox, both on Glickman's slate, were elected to the positions of senior vice president and vice president of academic affairs, respectively. Unite UMD candidate Andrew Steinberg will serve as the vice president of financial affairs next year, edging out ONE Party candidate Robert Mutschler by just 21 votes, according to data provided by the elections board.

Student Power Party candidate Malcolm Harris finished second in the presidential race, trailing Glickman by 88 votes. The CONNECT Party's Wanika Fisher finished third, and Unite UMD presidential candidate Nick Mongelluzzo was fourth.

The outcome was initially mired in controversy after allegations surfaced that the Unite UMD party used party members' laptops to collect votes. The elections board ultimately fined the party $200, and the results were made official Saturday.

Glickman, as an outlying commuter legislator in the current Student Government Association, had a hard time putting his feelings into words after hearing the announcement Friday, sitting in awed silence for several seconds, his mouth agape, before speaking.

"I don't think it will hit me until [inauguration day]," he finally said.

Just less than 20 percent of the student body participated in the election, about the same as in 2007. Last year 15.3 percent of the student body voted, the lowest turnout since 1999.

Mongelluzzo said the turnout was "definitely an improvement from last year," but the number was "still low," and he wasn't sure how it could be raised in next year's election.

While failing to make a dent in the executive board, the Student Power Party captured 11 legislative posts, the second most after the ONE Party, which secured 17 of the 37 spots. Unite UMD won six spots, and the CONNECT Party took two legislative positions. There will be a runoff for Courtyards legislator Tuesday, where Unite UMD and CONNECT Party candidates tied.

"Next year's legislature will be divided, and the student body president will have to bring them together," SGA President Jonathan Sachs said. Sachs' Students Party captured almost all of the legislative and all but one of the executive positions in last year's election, which featured only two parties.

Glickman said he was confident he could reach across party lines.

"I feel like my experience as a legislator will help me cross those rifts [between parties]," Glickman said. "At the same time, it's great to have different opinions."

Mongelluzzo, who is serving as the current SGA's director of governmental affairs, said the two parties from last year's election came together within a month and he was hopeful the same would happen next year. But, he added, the Student Power Party's goals are quite different from the other parties'.

Harris said the Student Power Party legislators could "bring a new perspective into the SGA" when the new body convenes next year. He said members of his party would stay active in campus issues but it was too early to tell what form that advocacy would take.

"We weren't in it to win the election; we were in it to make change on campus," Harris said. "That's what we're still going to do."

Fisher said she was disappointed next year's executive board does not represent the diversity of the campus. All four executives are white, and only one is female, she noted.

"Yes, I'm the minority candidate," Fisher said. "Everyone puts me in that box. But if I'm not that candidate, who is?"

Half of the board is Jewish, she added, which she said does not reflect the makeup of the student body.

Despite her loss, Fisher vowed to stay active on the campus and ensure the issues she cares about are addressed.

"If they don't think I'm going to be on them all year, I am," she said.

Mongelluzzo said he did not plan to be directly involved in the SGA next year but the Unite UMD platform goals would be carried out by Steinberg and the legislators who won.

"They ran for the same reasons," Mongelluzzo said. "They're going to carry [our ideas] even though I won't be there to do it with them."

Fisher and Mongelluzzo were doubtful about the ability of the ONE Party to achieve some of its campaign goals.

"A lot of my worries about [the ONE Party] platform, that [it is] unrealistic, still remain, but I do hope that I'm wrong," Mongelluzzo said.

But Glickman said his party had already researched the feasibility of its platform goals.

"Everything that we laid out and promised we looked into beforehand, so we made sure we weren't promising anything that we weren't able to achieve," he said.

Senior staff writer Marissa Lang contributed to this report. coxdbk@gmail.com