Amalfitano, Zaidi join UA executive board

Updated at 4:25 a.m. on 4/27/09

Both College sophomores, second-year UA members and chairmen of two prolific committees, Undergraduate Assembly members Matt Amalfitano and Mark Pan were well-matched in the election for Vice Chair for External Affairs. Even more fitting of their closeness, each candidate nominated the other for the position.

As the Nominations and Elections Committee and UA members reconvened for the second night of voting, after only two of the five executive positions were elected last Wednesday, UA members faced a tough decision between Amalfitano and Pan.

"It's a tough election because they are very well matched against each other," said past UA member and Engineering senior Jordan Mendel. "Clearly there are some differences in approach but they both have a lot of experiences working with the people they need to work with for this position."

After two hours of question and answer between the candidates and UA members and the external groups the Vice Chair of External Affair will be working with next year, the UA mulled over the two options for another two hours. Just before 1:00 a.m., it appeared that results were close; however, with Pan leading in a vote of 12 to 11 - with one abstention - the UA had to return to deliberations for a second time.

Finally, when NEC Chairwoman and College junior Brittany Stark announced the results, it was Amalfitano leading in a vote of 13 to 11.

Amalfitano, the outgoing Academic Affairs chairman, emphasized his experience, outreach skills and friendliness during his candidate speech, noting his desire to reach out to students and make their concerns a priority.

Stressing the importance of the UA providing tangible services to students, Amalfitano asked the assembled UA members and external groups, "If we [already] talk the talk, how do we walk the walk?"

Close to 4 a.m. College junior Sakina Zaidi won the position of treasurer, beating Wharton sophomore Ryan Houston by a vote of 15-9.

For the position of secretary, Houston dropped down to run against Wharton freshman Faye Cheng. Wharton and Nursing sophomore G.J. Melendez-Torrez was also nominated, but respectfully declined the nomination.

The debate that followed, however, focused less on the capabilities of the candidates than on the position itself. Houston, urged by new UA Chair and College sophomore Alec Webley, ran on a vague platform that aimed to create a "new position of secretary." A number of both past and present UA members balked at the proposal, presented for the first time at the 4:00 a.m. election, as it essentially created a new set of duties for the already-established secretary position.

Ultimately, Cheng won the position of secretary after short discussion by the UA.

Amalfitano, Zaidi and Cheng will join College sophomore Alec Webley, the new UA chairman, and College junior Lucia Liu, the new executive vice chairwoman, to round out the 2009-2010 UA executive board.

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