Christopher Ramirez was elected GPSA president Friday - the same day his opponent, Danny Hernandez, resigned.
Ramirez won the seat with 278 votes, while Hernandez got 172. About 8 percent of eligible students voted in the Graduate and Professional Student Association election.
Hernandez, who was chairman of GPSA's SRAC committee, said his resignation had nothing to do with the election.
"I just feel that a new administration deserves to run its own office," he said.
Hernandez said last week that he was displeased when Elections Chairman Tarance LeNoir showed a bias during the presidential forum.
"When he introduced everybody else, he just mentioned their name, and when he introduced Christopher, he gave him five minutes of accolade," Hernandez said. "He said all sorts of wonderful things about him, including calling him 'UNM's Obama.'"
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LeNoir said he made that comparison but did not give Ramirez any additional time to discuss his platform.
"I probably did give a little more accolade when I introduced Christopher because I was supporting Christopher," he said. "So, he knew it, and a few other people knew it. But I gave him just as much time as I gave anyone else."
Ramirez said LeNoir was fair to each candidate regardless of his personal convictions.
"I don't think it was unethical for Tarance to support someone, because everybody has the right to express themselves," he said.
Ramirez said he plans to mend the council's relationship with the departments that have stopped attending GPSA meetings after former President Joseph Garcia's failed recall.
"We haven't had students from biology or from physics and psychology," he said. "It wasn't just that that person stopped coming, but a lot of people stopped coming. So, we need to go back and reach out to those people so that they know that our table is big enough for everybody."
