Student government holds first uncontested election in years

The student government presidential and vice presidential seats are uncontested in the March 8 election, according to candidate biography information.

This is the first time since 2009 that the student government presidential election has gone uncontested. The last uncontested vice presidential election was in 2013.

Mitchell Rosenberg is the only candidate in the race for president.

Mitchell Rosenberg, a sophomore television writing and production major, is the first sophomore to run for president since 2010.

Sarah Tabsh is the only candidate for vice president.

Sarah Tabsh, the candidate for vice president, was not aware that the election was uncontested until an interview with The Panther March 1.

“I’m really upset about that, actually. I didn’t know that the seats were uncontested,” Tabsh, who is the junior class senator, said.

“I think, clearly, if that’s the case, then students don’t see student government as the changemaker it is.”

Rosenberg said that, for him, an uncontested race is “not ideal.”

“I think you’re easily able to figure out between a few candidates which one is the most passionate, and in an uncontested election, you might see that it would take away some of that,” Rosenberg said. “I can guarantee I will campaign just as hard uncontested or contested … The fact that it’s uncontested, I’m not even going to think about it.”

While the presidential seat was uncontested at the time of filing, Tasbh, a junior health sciences major, and sophomore screen acting major Arianna Ngnomire both filed to run for vice president by the Feb. 27 deadline.

On March 1, Ngnomire, who is the Black Student Union secretary, confirmed to The Panther that she was no longer running for vice president, because student government bylaws state that she

cannot serve as an executive member of an organization and also be vice president.

Student Government President Annabell Liao wrote in an email to The Panther that there is still time for students who are interested to file as a write-in candidate by March 8.

“It would be great if there were other students interested and available to run for the executive positions,” Liao wrote.