Chris Tillett was elected to lead the class of 2010 and Caitlin Pulte the class of 2011 in the run-off election Thursday after both tickets failed to receive 50 percent of the vote in Monday's general elections.
Tillett, along with Joy Hwang, Matt Malloy and Ellie Trousdale, beat the Kim Kyrouac Jeff Lakusta, Jordan Schank and Kathleen Donahue ticket.
Tillet's ticket received 55 percent of the vote, or 526 votes, while Kyrouac received 38 percent, or 367 votes. 64 rising seniors voted to abstain. The total vote count used to calculate the percentages include votes to abstain.
Tillett will take office on April 1, and he said the team will start planning for the upcoming year now.
"The [platform idea] that will happen first is the tailgate," he said. "There will be a barbeque cook-off tailgate for the senior class before one football game."
Most importantly, Tillett said he will focus on creating a series of seminars for seniors to aid the transition process after graduation. These seminars will explain how to start a 401(k) plan, take out a loan and pay taxes, he said.
Tillett said the team will also hold a networking conference for seniors in the spring before graduation.
"The networking conference at the end of next year will help seniors find faces they recognize in the city they'll work," he said.
Tillett said his team offers a balance of prior experience and freshness in leading the senior class.
"We have the experience necessary to do the job and enough outside perspective as well," he said.
Pulte, along with Henry Shine, Luke Stavole and Tim Castellini, received 51 percent of the vote, or 593 votes, while the ticket of Kevin Kimberly, Alexa Doyle, Dylan Fernandez and Rachel Roseberry received 41 percent, or 471 votes. There were 93 abstaining votes.
Both tickets were accused of election violations after Monday's general election. Pulte's ticket was found innocent, but Kimberly's ticket was charged with two violations. The Judicial Council could not reveal the nature of the violations or accusations based on guidelines set forth in the Student Constitution.
Pulte said she does not believe this had an effect on the outcome of the election because her ticket had a clear lead after the first round.
"We were in the lead and all we needed was 11 more votes to clinch the election," she said.
But Kimberly said he believes the allegations against his ticket took focus away from the platform.
"In the allegations, the platform got lost," he said. "That's where we lost."
He said if the allegations did not happen, his ticket would have had a chance to campaign for more votes between the general election and the run-off election.
Pulte said the first thing she will do in office is plan the class trip to see a Cubs game. She said the game will take place on a Saturday in the fall that does not conflict with a home football game.
The ticket brings considerable experience to the leadership role, Pulte said.
"We know procedures, we know people to contact," she said. "I am absolutely thrilled to lead the class."
