Media Credit: Kate Clark Johnny Delashaw celebrates with former and current Senate presidents Sara Hamilton and Athan Papailiou after viewing ASUO primary results Friday evening outside the EMU.

Media Credit: Kate Clark

Media Credit: Kate Clark Ted Sebastian, middle, a candidate for Senate Seat 5, waits outside the ASUO office for the results of the election primaries.

Sam Dotters-Katz and Johnny Delashaw won the race for ASUO Executive outright Friday night after receiving 50.8 percent of the votes cast. The Oregon Action Team candidates spent more than four times the amount of money spent by their rivals on the Rock the Yellow slate.

A total of 3,164 students voted in the executive race during the week of primary voting. Dotters-Katz and Delashaw won 1,608 votes.

Kari Herinckx and Jesse Hough of Rock the Yellow received 1,290 votes. Drew Cattermole won 119 votes, and write-in candidates received a total of 147 votes.

Campaign contributions and expenditures forms filed with the ASUO indicate Dotters-Katz and Delashaw spent $9,923.84 on the race, while Herinckx and Hough spent $2,345. Dotters-Katz and Delashaw's total does not include a $4,000 check former Student Senate President Sara Hamilton wrote to the Emerald to pay for campaign advertisements.

Dotters-Katz, who said he was celebrating his birthday Sunday, said Herinckx called him during the weekend. He said he told her he wished they had met earlier and that he had respect and admiration for her. Dotters-Katz said he had also received calls from former ASUO Presidents Jared Axelrod, Adam Walsh and Adam Petkun.

Herinckx said Sunday that she and Hough will continue to work on the issues important to them, and that she is focused on helping the other candidates on her slate. She said she will also work in her role in the current administration to assist in the transition between executive teams.

Dotters-Katz did not join the crowd outside the ASUO offices waiting for elections results Friday evening. Delashaw and Hamilton were there, as was Senate President Athan Papailiou.

"Sam, you're the president!" Hamilton shouted into her cell phone. "Sam, you're the president of the student body!"

She and Papailiou hugged and jumped up and down.

Papailiou referred to himself and Hamilton as "campaign co-directors" for Dotters-Katz and Delashaw and said, "Justice has been served."

Hamilton and Papailiou ran for executive last year and lost to President Emily McLain and Chii-San SunOwen in a run-off.

Shortly after the results were posted, Rock the Yellow members left and Oregon Action Team proponents stayed to celebrate.

"It's easy to buy an election," Sen. Nate Gulley, a Rock the Yellow supporter, said after reading the results.

Former Oregon Commentator Editor-in-Chief Ted Niedermeyer said the victory for Oregon Action Team was "a long time coming."

"It makes me feel like all the work I did last year was worth something," he said. "I think the ASUO will never be the same after this."

Before campaign contributions forms were released, Niedermeyer said the amount of money Dotters-Katz and Delashaw spent on the election "doesn't matter."

"(Rock the Yellow) rigged the elections board," he said. "There's nothing illegal about spending money."

Dotters-Katz said Sunday that the campaign contributions came from family members and family friends. Each of his parents and each of Delashaw's parents donated $500 to the campaign, which is the maximum individual contribution allowed under ASUO elections rules.

Oregon Action Team members donated a combined $407. Many donations are attributed to businesses rather than individuals, but Dotters-Katz said no individual's donation exceeded the $500 limit.

Ted Sebastian, who will enter a run-off election for Senate Seat 5 against Emma Kallaway, donated the trailer parked across from the EMU that has served as a campaign headquarters, according to the contributions form.

Oregon Action Team won five Senate seats outright during the primaries, and has candidates in five Senate seats to be decided during this week's general election.

Rock the Yellow won three Senate seats and an at-large seat on the Programs Finance Committee.

The winners in Senate were Nick Schultz, PFC Seat 2; Jordan Schenck, PFC Seat 3; Tyler Scandalios, EMU Seat 4; Tina Snodgrass, Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee Seat 8; Kate Jones, Departments Finance Committee Seat 9; Nathan Perley, Business Administration Seat 13; Mikey Latteri, Science Seat 16; and Sandy Weintraub, Graduate/Law Seat 18.

Matt Doty, Nick Berry and Justin Zweber won seats on the Student Recreation Center Advisory Board, and Tony Mecum won an at-large seat on the EMU Board.

Races continuing to a run-off include PFC Seat 1, where Sean Jin of Oregon Action Team and Rock the Yellow's Carina Miller are advancing. Oregon Action Team's Alex McCafferty and Rock the Yellow's James Brannon will compete for ACFC Seat 7.

Adrian Ho, an independent candidate, advanced to the general election with Nick Gower of Rock the Yellow for Architecture and Allied Arts Seat 12. Lidiana Soto of Rock the Yellow and Matt Hoffman of Oregon Action Team will compete for Social Sciences Seat 14.

rdandrea@dailyemerald.com

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