David Campbell wins MSU presidential election

It was second time’s a charm for David Campbell. In a landslide victory, the Arts & Science graduate beat out six other candidates to win the election for MSU President.

At about 10 p.m. on Thursday night, he got the good news in a phone call from current MSU president Siobhan Stewart.

David was speechless when we contacted him at home after the announcement was made.

"I don't know," he said when asked how he was feeling. "That's tough. Pretty excited."

"My phone just started ringing off the hook."

In an above-average turnout, 29.3 per cent of the student body voted, with 5972 votes total. Campbell won with 3146 first-place votes.

Jacob Brodka came in second with 1338 votes. James Dowdall had 360, Adrian Emmanuel had 343, Dan Fahey had 332, Haman Man had 77 and Rory Yendt had 58. There were 318 abstentions.

With Campbell winning a majority of the first-place votes, only one round of counting was needed.

Campbell, who is currently serving as the MSU’s Vice President (Administration), campaigned last year but lost the title to Siobhan Stewart by a narrow margin of 47 votes.

This year, his campaign focused on a series of straightforward and feasible goals to improve student experience at McMaster. Major platform points include eliminating unnecessary summer student fees, extending library hours, implementing a shuttle bus service, and training teaching assistants.

The referendum question to decrease the CFMU fee to $12.50 per student from $17.29 passed easily. The McMaster Marching Band was granted its $0.90 per student fee by only a narrow margin.

Campbell will begin his term in office on May 1.