In a close second round of elections, Director of Union Affairs Jason Gray '10 won the race for Student Union President with 49.86 percent of the vote last Tuesday. Gray defeated Deputy Treasurer Justin Kang '09 by 2.67 percentage points, according to information provided by elections commissioner Zachary Pyle '09. Gray received 693 votes, 37 more than Kang, who received 47.19 percent of the vote. Forty-one voters abstained, representing 2.95 percent. Thirteen-hundred and ninety of 3,249 eligible students voted in the presidential race, a participation rate of 42.78 percent.

Gray had finished six votes shy of winning the presidential race with 49.64 percent of the vote in the first round, where candidates who receive more than 50 percent win the election in a "mandate." But Kang, who received 39.78 percent of the vote in round one, made the second round much tighter. Frank Golub '10 and Daniel Baron '09 were both eliminated from the race in round one.

Village Quad Senator Michael Kerns '09 won the race for vice-president over Finance Board member Jordan Rothman '09 with 47.66 percent of the vote, coming out to 671 votes. Rothman received 592 votes, 42.05 percent of the vote. One-hundred and forty-five voters, or 10.30 percent, abstained in that race.

"I'm excited, I'm proud, I'm thankful for everyone who showed so much support and was there for me and was there for what we can do with the Student Union and the ways in which we can transform the university," Gray said. "It was a good race, a great campaign."

Among Gray's first tasks will be to help manage the transition between Union administrations and form the new executive board, he said.

"We need to help pass the financial amendments [to the Union constitution] and the Student Bill of Rights referendum [in round 2]," he said.

He added that his administration would reach out to different members of the community and organizations to better understand what they want from the Student Union. "I think this is a great opportunity to improve our University, I think we have a lot we can do, we have to get the right team together so we can do it as effectively as possible, that's what I'm going to be focusing on right now," Gray said.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Kang wrote that he was humbled by the enormous support he received throughout the entire election process. "I am now relieved and refreshed to finally move forward," he wrote.

"Next year will be an exciting one, filled with great promise to positively transform the Student Union and also Brandeis University. Jason Gray and all the other newly elected officials will do an excellent job," Kang wrote.

"I was extremely excited to hear that I would have the opportunity to serve for the coming year," Kerns said about his election. Slightly more students voted in the vice presidential race than the presidential one, with 1,408 of 3,249 eligible students voting for a participation rate of 43.34 percent

The new Finance Board members elected last Tuesday are Senator for the Class of 2009 Yuki Hasegawa, Julian Olidort '11 and Chief of Staff in the Office of the Treasurer Jahfree Duncan '09. Current Finance Board member Emily Moignard '09 was reelected.

Primary elections for Senator-at-Large, Class Senators, Senator for Racial Minority Students and Justices of the Union Judiciary will take place Tuesday, April 15, with the final round on Thursday, April 17. Sign-ups for those elections end this Sunday at 5:30 p.m.