Update, May 3: Five of the seven original candidates — Yaide Valdez, Joey Sechrist, Alika Turton, Matthew Jackson and Brennan Gorman — are running still running. The special election will be ranked choice, meaning students will be able to rank their top three choices instead of just voting for one candidate. Two candidates from the original election — Srikar Kolukuluri and Will Eaton — don’t appear on the special election ballot.
The winner of the UB Council student representative election has declined the position after originally accepting it, Assistant Director of Student Engagement Thomas Vane told The Spectrum in an email Friday. Vane did not say who the winner was.
A new representative will be chosen in a special election with the remaining original candidates, who will have until Monday to inform Student Engagement if they will be participating.
Students can vote in the special election on UBLinked from 9 a.m. Wednesday until noon on May 5.
The UB Council is the “primary oversight and advisory body” to UB administrators and reviews “all major plans and activities of the university,” according to the council’s website. Nine of the council’s 10 members are appointed by the governor to seven-year terms. The remaining member, a student, is elected by the student body to a one-year term. All members are unpaid.
Grant Ashley is the managing editor and can be reached at grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com
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.
