Smoke Signals July 1 994
Page 7
(Matthew Kirkland, continued)
I would like to offer my home phone
number for those of you who would
like to speak with me. If you like
what I am saying or have additional
questions, please give me a call.
My home number is in Salem,
Oregon, (503) 581-7674. I regret
not being able to return long
distance calls.
Please support me in this year's
Tribal Council election. Let's get
outthere andvotefor the leadership
our tribe needs.
My name is Earl Floyd "Butch"
LaBonte. My father's name is Joe
LaBonte, and my mother's name is
ThelmaLaBonte. My grandparents
are Bart LaBonte and Marlina
Cunningham LaBonte. I am a
member of the Veteran's
Committee.
I served on a focus group for the
Community Health Council. My
group was religion and spirituality.
I became a Born Again Christian
on July 2, 1982.
Butch LaBonte
I have made steady progress in
this area, towards the ultimate goal
ofperfcctioa
I presently work for the Tribal
Forestry Seasonal Crew.
The first thing I want to work for
is a multi -denominational church.
Secondly, we need to work for
welfare reform. I have five children,
and one stepson, who have been
raised in the welfare system. I
know the problems in the system.
We have children who need to be
reunited with their families.
Thirdly, we need 100,000 acres
to be self-sufficient The Colvilles
have 1.4millionand eight thousand
members. The Yakamas have 1.6
million acres. We need to be a role
model. We need more land now for
our housing and welfare reform.
I want to work for a Veteran's
Memorial, for veterans and their
families.
I'm proud of our tribal flag and
would like to see it flown over our
facilities daily. Especially our
cemetery.
I want our Tribal Council to stop
logging our buffer zones. I'm
physically able to walk down in our
deepest holes to check our streams
out.
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My name is Eugene LaBonte.
I was born and raised in the Grand
Rondc area.
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Eugene Labonte
My parents are the late Alexander
Gus LaBonte andEdnaK. LaBonte.
If elected to Tribal Council I will
work for equal opportunities for all
tribal members both young and old;
wherever their residence may be. I
am also in favor of per capita
financial benefits.
I feel it is important that the
General Council be made aware of
each Councilman's vote. The
Council represents the entire Tribe,
and therefore they have a
responsibility to make their vote
known.
I feel it is extremely important to
provide tribal members with
adequate housing.
Health care is essential. No tribal
member should suffer without
medical assistance or go without
necessary dental work or glasses.
I will appreciate your vote in the
coming election. I will do my best
to represent all tribal members. I
also endorse Ed Pearsall and Robert
Haller as their views and concerns
are the same as mine.
Vote for Merle Leno for Tribal
Council.
I am running for Tribal Council
because of my committment to
serving all the members and my
desire to provide the best possible
services for our Indian children,
young adults, and tribal elders.
Merle Leno
My life long experience serving
the Grand Ronde Tribe has
included: serving on the Tribal
Council for the corporation prior to
the restoration of the Tribe; serving
two terms on the Council since
restoration; I am in my fifth year
with the Tribal Health and Human
Services Committee and am serving
as Chairman of the committee. In
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this capacity I have worked to help
strengthen the Tribe's position for
health care for tribal members and
serve as a the tribal alternate for the
Portland Area IndianHealth Board.
I am the current Chairman of the
Advisory Committee for Nanitch
Sahallie; the Chairman of the Pow
wow Committee for the past ten
years; run the Tribal Bingo for the
past two years, and have wroked on
fund-raising for the pow-wow,
bingo, tribal youth, and the elder's
programs and services.
For the past seven years I have
served on the Board ofDirectors for
the National Indian Child Wefare
Association to support legislation
and funding to help our children
and families.
I am committed to the support of
the Tribe's economic development
and training efforts. As your elected
offical I will use my knowledge and
experience of tribal government to
advance the tribal needs in housing,
employment, education, child
wefare services, youth services,
senior services, and I will work to
expand quality services and
programs for all of our people.
I served eight years in the Air
Force, and married. My wife,
Claudia, works for the Chemawa
Indian School, we have three
children and three grand-children.
I would like to serve on Tribal
Council. .
My name is Reyn Leno, candidate
for Tribal Council member. My
parents are Orville and Ramona
Leno. My wife Liz and I have three
children Angela, age 21 just
graduated from PSU and has been
accepted to Lewis and Clark Law
School. Shonn, age 18 will be a
sophomore at PSU next year.
Dustin, age 16 will be a senior at
Willamina High School.
Reyn Leno
I have lived in the Grand Ronde
area my whole life, with the
exception of serving two years in
the Marine Corps. I am currently
the Vice-Chairman of the Timber
Committee, and have also been very
active in community youth
activities. I have worked for
Zimbrick logging for the past 23
years, a job I am willing to give up
if elected as Council member.
In the past few months my family
and I have presented to the people
four advisory votes. The issues
surrounding these votes affect each
and every tribal member. The issues
voted on and addressed were: Tribal
Council pay increase, prevention
of Tribal Council voting another
pay increase, Tribal Council local
travel, and asking Tribal Council
to accept an hourly wage. These
issues were votes on by the people
and passed by a large margin, for
the Tribal Council to address and
accept the people's advice. While
presenting these issues and talking
to many of the tribal members, I
believe that I brought forth the
feeling of the majority of the people.
I felt I was speaking for many of the
people and I will be able to take that
on into a Council member position.
As you can see I have a real
interest in our Tribe and would
greatly appreciate your vote and
support in September. I will do my
best to represent the people and
their concerns.
My name is Dean Mercier. I have
lived in Grand Ronde all of my life
and wasa part ofboth the restoration
effort and the formulation of the
early Tribal Council.
Ti i il i n JI
Dean Mercier
Most of my life I have worked as
a logger all over Oregon and the
Northwest
I believe the Tribe is now at a very
important part of its history. A
time when what we do will affect
our future forever. I have always
beenonewho believes in and values
the opinions of tribal members. As
our tribal population increases it
becomes more and more important
for Tribal Council to reach out to
the members to know what our
needs are.
Also, I am an advocate for
accountable leadership. I believe
tribal leaders should maintain the
highest standards of ethics in
everything they do.
I see a need to expand our
communication and services to all
members of the Tribe. And, to
design new ways of improving the
health, education, and living
standards of all our tribal families.
By this, I mean, if I am elected, I
will:
Push for expansion of Tribal
Education Programs.
Push for development of a Health
Center.
Push for development of a Youth
Council.
Push for the creation of more jobs
with adequate pay.
Push for the creation of better
housing.
Push for the Cemetery Committee
issue to be resovlved.
And most importantly, I will
represent your interests in the most
thoughtful and ethical way.
My name is Bob Mercier,
candidate for Tribal Council. I
have lived in the Grand Ronde
Willamina area all my life. I own
and operate a fleet of log trucks,
which I have done for nine years.
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Bob Mercier
As a small business operator, I
must keep adequate financial
records, make sure licensing and
permits for hauling are kept current,
and payroll for my drivers are just
a few of the responsibilities required
for operation. It takes basic skills
and common sense to operate a
business, small or large.
The Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde is a governmental
entity. It is a business also. The
Tribal Council is responsible for
managing an annual budget of
$10,000,000. Much of the Tribe's
annual budget comes from
governmental sources, federal,
state, and private foundations.
However, government funding
sources are becoming increasingly
difficult to secure. Provision of
public services will continue to
decline due to budget constraints.
The responsibility of the Tribal
Council will increase dramatically
when the gaming center begins
operation, as more money is
generated. These monies must be
used prudently to provide the
necessary services that government
dollars do not. I believe the skills I
have in operating my business will
be an asset to the Tribe in overall
budget and fiscal planning for the
future. We cannot rely on the
gaming center alone to make the
Tribe economically self-sufficient.
We must establish other means to
diversify the local economy.
Besides the fiscal responsibility,
the Council has the responsibility
of planning the growth of this
community. The development of
our infastructure is paramount.
Without it, community and
economic development is
impossible.
Between 1989 and 1992 1 served
on Tribal Council. At that time, the
Tribal Council made it a priority to
begin planning and construction of