Danny Burke will be the next Students’ Association president after winning by almost 700 votes.
A total of 1,426 students voted in the election, which is slightly less than last year’s 1,441 votes. Burke received 1,030 votes while his opponent, Abraham Enriquez, current vice president, received 349 votes. Julia Kennedy ran unopposed for vice president and received 1,217 votes with 209 abstaining.
Burke, junior marketing major from Seymour, Indiana, said he attributes the win to his campaign team.
“I’m extremely humbled and excited,” Burke said. “I think it’s such a great privilege to represent the student body.”
Enriquez, junior political science major from Lubbock, said he has been friends with Burke since their freshmen year and he is proud of Burke. He said he is excited for what SA will do in the next year.
“I’m even more excited that I got to highlight the things I’m passionate about,” Enriquez said.
He said is not sure if he will run for a position in Congress next year.
The student body also voted on the Bridge proposition, an amendment to the SA constitution. The amendment passed by 796 votes, with 112 voting against and 545 abstaining. The amendment would require the multicultural representatives to be members of a group sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. It would also form a minority council to help SA better communicate with OMA groups, which include the Black Students’ Association, Hispanos Unidos, the International Students’ Association and more.
Abbey Moses, current executive president, said the new cabinet will hire a treasurer in the same way they hire the cabinet administrator, chief financial officer and chief communication officer. Student Congress will then vote on the appointed treasurer and the candidate must receive two-thirds of the vote to gain office.
Burke said he will work with Moses and Dr. Chris Riley, vice president of Student Life, to start the process of appointing a treasurer.
“I want to definitely have somebody that is going to fill the job extremely well,” Burke said.
He said he wants to appoint someone who can handle the budget but also answer any questions Congress has about the distribution of funds.
The executive president serves as the chief executive to SA and Student Congress and represents the entire student body to the university administration, according to the SA Constitution.
The executive vice president presides over the Student Congress and can fulfill the president’s duties if the president is absent. The executive treasurer makes the SA budget, releases funds to student groups and reports and records all SA funds.
The three officers each earn $14.50 an hour, which comes from the total SA budget. In the spring, the SA cabinet received $22,500 which amounts to about 22 percent of the $103,900 spring budget.
