The Paul&Pang party won the race for president and vice president of the SA e-board during a five-day election that ended Friday.
Becky Paul-Odionhin and Sammi Pang will be joined by Alana Lesczynski, who won the race for treasurer under the Amplify UB party banner, on the SA e-board in 2022-23.
The Paul&Pang party didn’t run a candidate for treasurer.
Paul-Odionhin and Pang ran on a platform centered around “student wellness, sustainability and community” that included emphasizing student mental health, improved relations with clubs and examining whether to reimplement the SA’s sustainability pledge to comply with UB’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Paul-Odionhin, a sophomore industrial and systems engineering major, won the presidential race with 544 (37.93%) of a possible 1,434 votes. A.J. Franklin, a junior psychology major and Spectrum contributing writer running with the Amplify party, finished a close second with 485 (33.82%) votes.
Pang, a sophomore business administration major, garnered 554 (38.63%) votes to win the vice presidency. Alexandra Cuatlayo, a junior psychology major, finished a slightly-more-distant second with 472 (32.91%) votes.
Lesczynski, a junior studio art major, won the race for treasurer with 760 (52.99%) votes, a majority of those cast. Tyler Herman, a freshman economics and political science major, ran with the Blue Strength party as the only other candidate for treasurer and garnered 465 (32.42%) votes. Two hundred nine voters, representing 14.57% of ballots cast, abstained.
Current SA treasurer Austin Wolfgang placed third in the presidential race, with 219 (22.24%) votes. Montana Desabio, the current SA vice president, placed third in the VP race, with 373 (26.01%) votes.
The two current SA e-board members ran together under the Blue Strength party banner, which also included Herman.
All undergraduate students were eligible to vote through the SA’s website. The polls closed at 4 p.m. Friday after five days of voting.
The SA serves as the undergraduate student government, overseeing most undergraduate student clubs, hosting its own events, advocating for the undergraduate student body and providing legal services to individual students. It is funded by the $109 mandatory student activity fee, which students must approve by referendum every other year.
SA e-board members receive annual stipends of $15,750 and oversee a $4.6 million budget.
Grant Ashley is a senior news/features editor and can be reached at grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com
Justin Weiss is the managing editor and can be reached at justin.weiss@ubspectrum.com
Justin Weiss is The Spectrum's managing editor. In his free time, he can be found hiking, playing baseball or throwing things at his TV when his sports teams aren't winning. His words have appeared in Elite Sports New York and the Long Island Herald. He can be found on Twitter @Jwmlb1.
Grant Ashley is the editor in chief of The Spectrum. He's also reported for NPR, WBFO, WIVB and The Buffalo News. He enjoys taking long bike rides, baking with his parents’ ingredients and recreating Bob Ross paintings in crayon. He can be found on the platform formerly known as Twitter at @Grantrashley.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
