By Matt SpectorThe Daily Northwestern
When Weinberg sophomore Nate West got the call telling him he won the race for student services vice president, he didn’t want to know the details.
West received the call from the Associated Student Government Election Commission about an hour after the polls closed Tuesday night. West said he didn’t even want to ask for specific election numbers.
“(Election Commissioner Eric Parker) sounded like he was making a lot of phone calls, so I didn’t really ask him about the details,” West said.
Voters elected West by the widest margin of any of the four races in Tuesday’s election.
The only candidate in the race, West netted 2,373 votes, or about 83.5 percent of the total. There were 352 voters who abstained.
Of the four races in this year’s election, West received the highest percentage of votes.
West was in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house with his campaign manager, Weinberg sophomore Chad Watkins, when he heard the news.
“No matter who you’re running against, 83.5 (percent) is a lot,” Watkins said. “I think Nate will do a fantastic job as SSVP. He’s just ready to get to work.”
During the day and between his classes, West passed out quarter sheets at The Rock and The Arch.
His other campaign manager, Communication junior Tara Corrigan, helped him make the final push early Tuesday morning in what she called a “fairly traditional campaign.”
“We went flyering last night, we chalked last night,” she said. “It wasn’t anything that was huge.”
Corrigan said they ran a campaign that represented West as both a candidate and a person.
In his new position in the student services committee, West wants to start allocating funds for all-campus wireless Internet connectivity, he said.
“It needs the most attention right now,” he said. “It’s such a good project and it needs the most funding.”
In addition to his plans for ASG, West said he hopes to make an impact outside bills and Senate sessions, maybe even by following in presidential footsteps.
He joked that he eats lunch in Norris University Center every day, although he doesn’t eat “The Schu,” a wrap named after outgoing ASG President and Communication senior Jay Schumacher.
“What I get there is a grilled chicken sandwich,” he said. “I would have no problem ordering a ‘grilled Nate West’ if that were ever to happen.”
Reach Matt Spector at [email protected].
