Tyler Martinez (26C) defeated Seth Weinfield (27C) in a runoff election yesterday to secure the Student Government Association (SGA) presidency. Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B), who ran alongside Martinez, was elected vice president.
Martinez garnered 802 (58.36%) votes compared to Weinfield’s 572 (41.63%) votes. The vice presidential race was a closer call, with Grotjan earning 707 (51.45%) votes to pull ahead of Maahi Sethi (27C), who received 667 (48.54%) votes. In total, 1,374 students voted in the runoff elections, 334 less than the general election that closed on Feb. 28.
Grotjan described the runoff as “nerve-racking” and said she and Martinez put their heart and soul into the election.
“It was really beautiful to see — all my supporters and all my community come together and rally together to support ideas that both Tyler and I had,” Grotjan said.
This marks a shift from the general election, in which Weinfield garnered 615 (36%) votes while Martinez amassed 583 (34.13%) votes. Similarly, Sethi ended the vice presidential general election ahead of Grotjan, with the candidates earning 700 (40.98%) and 558 (32.66%) votes.
Since none of the candidates received more than 50% of the votes cast in the general elections, the races advanced to runoffs. Treasurer of Alpha Tau Omega Walker Liu (26C) and Alpha Kappa Psi Vice President of Service Kenneth Power (27C) ran on a joint ticket to be SGA’s next president and vice president, but were unable to continue to the runoff after both placed third in the general election.
Martinez currently serves as the Emory University National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) second vice president, while Grotjan is the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Council SGA representative. Martinez and Grotjan hope to immediately begin working on extending library hours and providing free printing to students. In the future, the pair have plans to add two student representatives to the University’s Board of Trustees. Additionally, Martinez and Grotjan said they want to work with the University Senate’s Committee for Open Expression and other student government organizations at Emory to rewrite the current Respect for Open Expression Policy. The Martinez-Grotjan ticket also campaigned on creating a system for peer advising to “help lighten the burden” for the Office of Financial Aid, in addition to providing aid to students navigating the process.
When looking for cabinet members, Martinez and Grotjan said they are looking for people who are willing to create change. Martinez added that he would be interested in working with Liu and Power during his tenure.
“I would love to work with both Walker and Kenny,” Martinez said. “They’re very active student leaders that want change and they also come from two very different backgrounds that SGA hasn’t really seen in the past, and I think that’s part of why we connected as candidates, because we were both fighting for equity within SGA.”
Many student organizations from around campus endorsed Martinez and Grotjan, including the Puerto Rican Student Association, Emory NAACP, Muslim Students Association, Young Democrats of Emory and Black Student Alliance. Liu also endorsed Martinez in the runoff election.
Weinfield, a second-year SGA and College Council legislator, hopes the student body will engage in respectful discourse under the Martinez-Grotjan administration. He noted that there was some tension between students who supported competing candidates in the election.
“We should be comfortable in a space where we can get a coffee with someone that we disagree with and be comfortable with that disagreement,” Weinfield said. “Moving forward as an Emory student body, we need to promote positive discourse.”
Although Weinfield is unsure about his future in SGA, he hopes to continue addressing issues impacting the Emory community. Sethi shared similar sentiments in an email to The Emory Wheel.
“Even though we did not win, the sentiments behind our campaign, such as the student advisory boards, the disability identity space and open expression policy, food policy — we’re still in conversations about that,” Weinfield said.
Additionally, OxSGA Speaker of the Senate Braden Newsome (25Ox) was elected to serve as the next College Council vice president with 682 (62.85%) votes, surpassing 403 (37.14%) votes of no confidence. The race advanced to a runoff between Newsome and no confidence after Emory College of Arts and Sciences students cast 418 (34.03%) votes of no confidence and 410 (33.38%) votes for Newsome in the general election. Emory student ambassador Ellie Estridge (28C), who received 400 (32.57%) votes, did not qualify for the runoff.
Newsome hopes to prioritize mental health services and reduce the amount of “unnecessary busywork” students must complete for classes. He plans to diversify the Emory community by expanding funding for cultural clubs and other resources for students. Additionally, Newsome intends to act as a liaison between students and administration and improve transparency between students and College Council.
Newsome said he was happy with the results, adding that he is excited to work with College Council President-elect Vladyslav Senenko (27C). He attributed his victory in the runoff to focusing more on his campaign’s social media presence and connecting with students.
“I was a little surprised,” Newsome said. “I hate to say it — I lost to no confidence by a small eight votes in the general, so I figured it'd be a little closer in the runoff.”
Newsome said he hopes to begin implementing some initiatives before the semester ends.
“My hope for my tenure as College Council’s vice president, and the 70th College Council generally, will be that I helped make College Council more transparent and more inclusive of the student voice,” Newsome said.
Update (3/5/24 at 9 a.m.): This article was updated to include comments from Tyler Martinez (26C), Seth Weinfield (27C), Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B), Maahi Sethi (27C) and Braden Newsome (25Ox).
Spencer Friedland (26C) is from Long Island, N.Y. While not working at the Wheel, he is a member of Emory Disability Rights, Education Activism and Mentoring and the Franklin Fellows program. In his free time, he can be found watching the New York Yankees or going to the movies.
