Last week, the University of North Florida Student Government held elections in the judicial and legislative branches to reelect Ali Sartawi as chief justice and elect Tommy Mazzella as budget and allocations committee chair.

Six of the seven SG justices voted for chief justice on Tuesday morning. Incumbent Sartawi and associate justice Luke Welborn nominated themselves, and Sartawi won in a 4-2 vote.

The chief justice is elected annually to lead the judicial branch in interpreting the SG Constitution and handling student complaints against SG or SG-funded student organizations. The branch also has the final say in impeachment proceedings.

Mazzella was then nominated by Senator Jose Casteneda and elected as Budget and Allocations Committee chair in a 17-2 vote against Senator Benjamin Shmia on Friday afternoon.

A UNF freshman and Greek ambassador double majoring in sports management and marketing, Mazzella told the Senate he had thoroughly researched the Budget and Allocations Committee and even contacted former chair Joe Baskes to gain further insight.

In his campaign speech, Mazzella promised engagement if he was elected.

“I hope to get as involved as possible … I want to keep the Budgets and Allocations Committee and the Senate in the loop, get a little more involvement and communication up in the chamber itself and get a little more understanding within processes that are being put into the chambers,” he said.

He also said he plans to assist registered student organizations in requesting funding.

“RSOs are really essential to the Student Government, and [they’re] basically the building blocks to the future of our community. It is my goal to effectively communicate with them during the process and request process, making it as easy as possible,” Mazzella said.

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