McGee wins ASG presidency
Updated 9:40 p.m.
Mike McGee received a call from Election Commissioner Paul David Shrader at 7:21 p.m. Friday. After hanging up, he broke the silence in the PARC seminar room.
“Oh shit, we won!”
The room burst into screams as McGee and Smithburg’s supporters jumped up and down, hugging each other.
McGee will be the next president of Associated Student Government, winning 60 percent of student votes during Friday’s runoff election.
The Communication junior had won 47.9 percent of votes during Wednesday’s general election, just 33 votes shy of Medill junior Bill Pulte’s 48.6 percent. Rules required the runoff election because no single candidate won a majority of votes. Fellow candidate Luke Adams received 2.1 percent of the vote and did not participate in the runoff.
Out of 4,292 ballots cast in the runoff election, 2,526 were for McGee, while 1,684 went to Pulte. There were 82 abstentions, but the abstentions did not affect percentage counts. In the general election, 4,421 students voted.
Weinberg junior Tommy Smithburg, McGee’s running mate, will become vice president.
“It’s just the beginning,” Smithburg said, adding that he was “stunned” and “proud” of the results.
“When Mike won AVP [Academic Vice President] last year, it was a really happy moment,” said Vikram Karandikar, the outgoing executive vice president and a supporter of McGee. “But this feels so right, so good, such an accomplishment.”
McGee expressed relief and excitement about the news of his election, and particularly stressed the importance of his campaign team in keeping him motivated.
“It’s all about the people,” he said. “They’re the only reason I was able to stay up 22 hours a night, it’s thanks to all these guys and the new people that you meet.”
McGee added that he intended to “hit the ground running” and focus specifically on communication with students.
“It’s probably the first thing that we can do, and it’s probably the easiest thing we can do,” he said. “There are still people who don’t know about ASG, there are still people who don’t know about all the positions, all the committees, so I think that’s what we want to do first.”
When contacted to comment on the results of the election, outgoing ASG president Neal Sales-Griffin said that “we’re in good hands.”
A few minutes after receiving the news that they had lost the race by a margin of 40 percent to 60 percent, Pulte and Dawson shared their reactions in the hallway outside of Pulte’s room in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house.
“It’s very interesting to Pat and I, and I think to the rest of our team, that you can go from being 49-48 one day and then the next day you’re at a 60-40 loss,” Pulte said.
Both Pulte and Dawson declined to speculate on the cause of the shift in votes. Pulte also declined to comment about about Thursday night’s e-mail from Academic Director Muhammad Safdari and did not indicate whether he was satisfied by the ASG Election Commission’s response.
In reflection, Pulte said, “we gave it the best fight we had, I think everybody saw that. Because of the Pulte-Dawson campaign we were able to generate record numbers for this campaign. Again I just think this is a very curious situation, a very mysterious situation.”
Dawson said he was disappointed with the loss, but “glad that Bill and I ran; I think we did a lot. I think we ran a good campaign. I am interested in the fact that there was such a huge drop-off in such a short time.”
Pulte called McGee to congratulate him but reached voicemail and decided not to leave a message. “It was a well-fought race; both campaigns fought very well,” he said. “I hope that Mike and Tommy can really produce things that are really going to affect the lives of daily students; that was my goal.”
In Monday night’s presidential debate, Pulte said he would like to continue serving in ASG if he lost the race, but said Friday night he had not decided in what capacity.
Among some of his friends and campaigners outside the Pike house, Pulte commented on a helicopter flying overhead. “I chose to run because I thought there was a place I could have value.” But at least with his loss, Pulte can “go back to running [his] helicopter business.”
A brief note: We have moderated several comments on this post that used false names or were derogatory in nature. North by Northwestern promotes discussion about our articles, but we urge you to keep the discussion civil. If you have any questions or feel that other comments should also be moderated, feel free to e-mail us.
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HAHA SUCKERS!!!!!
HAHA
April 17, 2009 at 7:32 pm
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
pulte sucks
April 17, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Hope you’re looking forward to a year with NO north south shuttle and NO medical alcohol amnesty!
your mom
April 17, 2009 at 7:34 pm
and NO douche bag!!
pulte sucks
April 17, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Jeezy called it
My lambo's too
April 17, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Kind of surprising, considering the whole clusterfuck that was last night.
Blah
April 17, 2009 at 7:37 pm
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
cm
April 17, 2009 at 7:40 pm
It’s not about being a douchebag, you idiot. It’s about who is going to bring change to the student body for the better.
your mom
April 17, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Everyone knew he was going to win, especially after Mo sent out that email.
Expected
April 17, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Pulte had no plan for medical alcohol amnesty, there’s no way something like that would be able to pass this year. A committee that has yet to be created votes on the policy, and Pulte is full of shit if he promised that was going to happen this year.
Happy camping.
The best candidate won!!!!!!
L
April 17, 2009 at 7:47 pm
So why did Mike promise it too?
L 2
April 17, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Get your facts straight. The timelines are different — McGee said he would push for the prospect to be created and would start working with the admin to create a committee for alcohol safety. McGee also worked on the alcohol safety task force, which Bill has no experience with.
L 3
April 17, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I like bunnies.
GDub
April 17, 2009 at 8:14 pm
McGee’s running so we could fly
Jigga Man
April 17, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Democracy prevails.
JS
April 17, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Democracy fails.
JS
April 17, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Oh wait – they’re both douche bags
pulte sucks
April 17, 2009 at 9:52 pm
The best candidate lost!!!!!!
L 4
April 17, 2009 at 9:53 pm
The best candidate won!!!!!!
L 5
April 17, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Wait- … Who cares about this again? ASG does shit.
Wait
April 17, 2009 at 9:54 pm
tl;dr
Anon
April 17, 2009 at 10:00 pm
“It’s very interesting to Pat and I, and I think to the rest of our team, that you can go from being 49-48 one day and then the next day you’re at a 60-40 loss,” Pulte said.
WOW. Can anyone say sore loser?
L.H.
April 17, 2009 at 10:04 pm
lol helicopter business.
and lol:
“Because of the Pulte-Dawson campaign we were able to generate record numbers for this campaign.”
yeah it was all you, pulte. hmph.
cm
April 17, 2009 at 10:08 pm
lol if pulte wasn’t such a douche maybe he would have had a better chance at winning.
on paper both were similarly qualified; in person, mike takes the cake. he’s just friendlier, nicer, and more considerate overall. mike is sincere, whereas pulte…well we all know what he’s like. pulte’s ego is beyond all measure. he needs to be brought back down to earth. i couldn’t be happier with the results.
mike is the man!
April 17, 2009 at 10:17 pm
“It’s not about being a douchebag, you idiot. It’s about who is going to bring change to the student body for the better.”
And the answer to that question is …. not Pulte.
Anonymous
April 17, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Shut up
your mom
April 17, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Enough already. Jeez. It’s over, McGee won fair and square. That’s it. No more bitching about all of this. Pulte is a very capable person; 99% of campus cannot do what he can do when it comes to running businesses or working with professional adults. 99% of campus also cannot do what Mike McGee can do.
Enough said.
OH Just Shut Up! Everyone!
April 17, 2009 at 11:01 pm
i hope so bad that the above comments are real.
cm
April 17, 2009 at 11:26 pm
nevermind.
cm
April 17, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Wow, from reading this thread, some Northwestern students are really stupid. This does not give me very much hope at all. We need to tighten the admission standards.
jjr5
April 18, 2009 at 1:44 am
The nicest guy one, but the best qualified candidate lost. ASG hasn’t done shit in years and a vote for Mike was a vote for more of the same. We had a chance to change things up and maybe, POSSIBLY have ASG actually do something for the student body. But instead everyone voted for the guy who was nice enough to hand out lollipops. Enjoy another year of the administration ignoring undergraduate needs and doing whatever the hell they want.
Student
April 18, 2009 at 2:23 am
After reading through all these immature and juvenile comments, I dearly hope that the admissions committee reconsiders their admission standards.
Anonymous
April 18, 2009 at 2:58 am
The internet makes people act stupid.
Anonymous
April 18, 2009 at 7:30 am
And you think this site is more than a glorified student run message board of sorts. Because that’s exactly what NBN is, and this is what happens on those places.
It doesn’t matter who you let into NU, anonymous reply message boards on a random student group’s website will always turn out like this. To think otherwise is incredibly naive.
Anonymous
April 18, 2009 at 7:40 am
Its anonymity that makes people act stupid. Anyway, this election was a joke. Mike was probably the better candidate and he won. That’s good. But I think this year sets an annoyingly dangerous precedent for Northwestern ASG elections (not that they really matter all that much). The Election Committee who is tasked to ensure that a fair campaign is run failed miserably. Pulte was 100% correct to be curious about how the percentages of votes could have changed so drastically. The only answer is that the slanderous defamation sent out by Mo had an effect on this election. The election committee thought that they responded adequately, but they clearly didn’t. If I were running for ASG president next year, I see no reason not to have one of my rogue supporters send out a dirty email and pretend I had no knowledge of it. While Mike’s election will be good for the student body, I would rather have maintained the dignity of our electoral process and perhaps let him lose. Anyone who doesn’t see that email as the biggest factor in this election is blinded by their ignorance.
Bilbo Baggins
April 18, 2009 at 11:24 am
You are completely right. I bet Mike must have doubts about whether he would have won without that email. I imagine he was disappointed by it originally, but in the end, pleasantly surprised.
DOWN WITH THE ELECTION COMMITTEE.
ThinkAboutIt
April 18, 2009 at 11:29 am
http://www.xkcd.com/438/
TD
April 18, 2009 at 11:40 am
“Anyway, this election was a joke.”
Yes it was.
“Mike was probably the better candidate and he won.”
He was the friendlier/more popular candidate, so obviously he won the popularity contest.
“But I think this year sets an annoyingly dangerous precedent for Northwestern ASG elections (not that they really matter all that much). The Election Committee who is tasked to ensure that a fair campaign is run failed miserably.”
But watching things fail is funny, especially since it’s the ASG, which is a useless institution.
“Pulte was 100% correct to be curious about how the percentages of votes could have changed so drastically. The only answer is that the slanderous defamation sent out by Mo had an effect on this election. The election committee thought that they responded adequately, but they clearly didn’t.”
Most people I’ve talked to voted more McGee because they felt the response from the committee was stupid and unfair against him.
“Anyone who doesn’t see that email as the biggest factor in this election is blinded by their ignorance.”
QFT
“I bet Mike must have doubts about whether he would have won without that email. I imagine he was disappointed by it originally, but in the end, pleasantly surprised.”
If he thinks he did it all on his own, he’s a moron.
“http://www.xkcd.com/438/”
Welcome to the internet. How may I piss you off today?
Anonymous
April 18, 2009 at 12:16 pm
You can’t think that Pulte’s minions not being able to go door to door with laptops wasn’t a significant factor as well.
Frodo Baggins
April 18, 2009 at 12:21 pm
RE: Frodo
Did you read anything before you commented? Both sides were doing that, although he apparently had more people than McGee using the loophole which is why his campaign was confronted about it rather than McGee’s.
And if you want something else that influenced the final results, you have the letter to the Daily claiming Pulte is a racist.
Drogo Baggins
April 18, 2009 at 12:30 pm
False. Pulte was solely at fault. And it serves him right that somebody pointed out his racist assumptions about McGee supporters.
Frodo Baggins
April 18, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Stop this hobbit-on-hobbit crime.
A white person
April 18, 2009 at 3:47 pm
As Chief Shirriff, I demand a stop to this, or it’s off to the mines for both of you!
Lotho Sackville-Baggins
April 18, 2009 at 4:47 pm
“The only answer is that the slanderous defamation sent out by Mo had an effect on this election. The election committee thought that they responded adequately, but they clearly didn’t.”
Do you have a suggestion for an alternative recourse?
Paul David Shrader
April 18, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Another year of ASG doing nothing…woo-hoo
student
April 18, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Look at that. They deleted the comments made by McGee and Pulte.
Anonymous
April 19, 2009 at 9:41 am
Shrader everyone knows you were giving Pulte election results. Pulte just told people fake numbers the whole day to cover both of your butts. The issue is, however, that Pulte knew the election was close. The discrepancy between 40 votes ahead and 100 votes ahead is so little that there has to be suspicion that Pulte could have had “rough” estimates so close to the real results. Recourse? No recourse was needed… the students spoke… we don’t want a Pulte that insults the intelligence of black students by assuming that they will just vote for the black candidate… we don’t want a Pulte that tries to LIE about election results to get people to vote… we don’t want a Pulte that promises a fall Dillo Day when the university won’t fund it… the right candidate won… lets move on…
Northwestern
April 19, 2009 at 1:21 pm
We don’t care anymore. We sort of cared last week, but now that it’s over, we don’t.
The Students of Northwestern
April 19, 2009 at 5:35 pm
ASG = Useless Joke
People that still care about ASG = People with no life
People that comment on NBN = People trying to avoid work that enjoy making fun of other people
Anonymous
April 19, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Pulte looks like a cross between Mark Wahlberg and Napoleon
Anon
April 19, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Mark Wahlberg is hot (or at least was – calvin klein anyone?)….
mw
April 20, 2009 at 5:55 pm