Brandeis students elected Nelson Rutrick '09 as the new Student Union secretary in special elections held last Sunday. The elections were called in order to fill the office after Michael Goldman's '08 resignation Nov. 1. Rutrick gained over 50 percent of the votes in the first round, eliminating the need for the second round today. "It was an extremely close race," Rutrick said after results were posted. "It was the hardest competition I've ever had in my life, and I want to thank all the people who helped me."

Polls opened at midnight last Sunday, and Rutrick received 409 votes. His opponent, Tia Chatterjee '09, received 361 votes.

"I've always wanted to have a larger role in student government, but I haven't had the time to commit to it," Rutrick said in an interview during his campaign. "After seeing all the drama with the last secretary, it interested me a lot in student government. I was one of the only non-Student Union members who went to [Goldman's] trial. It was very interesting to me."

Goldman said earlier this month that he resigned because Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 has controlled the executive board and excessively increased the power of her office. Goldman objected to Sinha's squashing of a debate about the position of racial minority senator at an E-board meeting and the fact that she chose to give herself one of the student positions on a new Firearms Advisory Committee.

The resignation followed a monthlong controversy over Goldman's admitting to releasing vote tallies to candidates during an election periods last spring and hinting at tallies to a candidate's friend during an election period last fall. The Senate unanimously censured Goldman and removed his ability to view the elections software after an unofficial, nonbinding straw poll to decide whether to hold an impeachment vote failed by one vote.

A Union Judiciary case followed after a student sued Goldman for his behavior during the election. The court ruled that Gol man's actions were unconstitutional because he breached implied constitutional standards of fairness.

At a meeting last Monday, both candidates met with the election commissioners to discuss the election process and to go over the rules of elections. The Election Commission consisted of Union Vice President Alex Braver '09, Class of 2008 Senator Darren Gallant, Ziv Quad Senator Justin Sulsky '09, Representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Zach Pyle '09 and Director of Research and Development Sridatta Mukherjee '09. Sinha presided as chief of elections, a duty that would normally fall on the secretary.

"I thought the election was well-run by the Election Commission," Chatterjee said. "When we sent in our endorsements and pictures to The Union Web site, they were very quick to respond. The process itself went very smoothly."

The candidates began campaigning last Monday. "I met a lot of new people [through campaigning]. There are more freshmen than you think," Rutrick said.

"Campaigning was a lot of hard work," Chatterjee said.

Both candidates received endorsements from different clubs on campus. On the Student Union Web site, Rutrick's endorsements included Brandeis for John Edwards, College Democrats and Pre-Health Society. Chatterjee's endorsements included Adagio Dance Company, Democracy For America and Democracy Matters.