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Running unopposed, Shane Reynolds won the Graduate and Professional Student Association presidential election with running mate Amir Gilmore on Thursday.

Blake Martens, GPSA Election Board chairman, said the focus of this year’s election was filling the ballot, which he said has been a success. Martens said they have received roughly four times the amount of participation in senator applications.

This year there were 71 applicants for senator positions, a significant increase from last fall when only 10 seats were filled.

“We wanted sustainability for the organization as a whole,” Martens said.

Organizing this year’s elections to coordinate with the ASWSU elections has been a big help, Martens said.

According to campaign statements, the new administration will work closely with Health & Wellness Services to focus on student health care. It will also strive to maintain GPSA excellence through service programs like travel grants and childcare.

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“Both Shane and Amir want to build upon what the last administration has done,” Martens said, “with a focus on getting the Senate more involved.”

Reynolds is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, and Gilmore is a Ph.D. student in cultural studies and social thought in education.

Graduate students also passed referendum 46-02 for an increased student transit fee, with about 67 percent approval. Undergraduates passed the referendum on Wednesday, but the initiative needed to go through GPSA as well to be approved.

The referendum, which will be put in place this fall, will generate about $100,000 in revenue each semester by increasing the student transit fees by $5. This is the first increase in student transit fees in nine years.

GPSA senators, whose roles include communicating all relevant information between their specific department and the student government representing them, were also elected. The results of the college representatives’ election were released Thursday.

“All the candidates have been really strong,” Martens said. “If they’re running uncontested, there is normally a reason.”

The GPSA vice president of Legislative Affairs position is still unfilled. Martens said this appointed position will be decided when school resumes after spring break.