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Election
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KATHRVN HARRISON EUGENE LoDOMTE
Dear tribal members:
Once again I am asking for your vote because I care
about my people and would like to continue to serve you
as a Council member. It is always with great pride each
time I am required to represent you.
During the past three years, some of my activities have
been:
Spirit Mountain Community Fund
Native American Rights Fund
Sovereignty Political Action Committee (A national
group initiated by Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse -OR.)
National Indian Gaming Association Keynote Speaker
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Keynote
Speaker
Assisted renegotiating our Gaming Compact
Initiated Subcommittees for Council
Favored the retirement and dividend programs, and
also increasing them
In the future, I'd like to:
Assist in community meetings to hear more of our
members' dreams and visions
Establish a meeting place for youth to give them a
recreational area
Daycare for our people
Create a Veterans' Memorial
More housing
Create a historical video of our people
The progress made by the Tribe during the eighteen
years since you first elected me has been awesome. I
feel my contributions have helped toward that success.
In spite of all bur efforts, however, I feel we still haven't
reached our full potential and I am willing to work to
ward higher goals for us all.
Many thanks for your support these past years and I
am asking for your continued confidence and faith in
me in the future by re-electing me as your Council member.
My name is Eugene LaBonte, and I was born and
raised in Grand Ronde. My parents were the late
Alexander Gus LaBonte and Edna K. LaBonte. I pre
viously served on Tribal Council from 1994-97. Dur
ing that time I was privileged to be involved with the
beginning of our Spirit Mountain Casino. With money
generated from the Casino, we were able to finance the
following programs:
Health Insurance: This program is set up so all tribal
members living outside of the Service Area can have
health insurance no matter where you live.
Retirement for Elders: With this fund in place El
ders have been able to enjoy retirement a reality few of
us dreamed possible. I was instrumental in the decision
to refund the additional money to the Elders that Social
Security took out for Medicare supplemental insurance.
If re-elected I will push to add additional funds to this
program and hope to increase the amount that we are
currently receiving. This fund will benefit all as we
reach 55 years of age.
Education: The increased funds added to this pro
gram have made it possible for all tribal members to
further their education if desired. Stressing the impor
tance of education for our youth is important to prepare
them to be the leaders of our future growth.
Dividend Fund: I was involved in the first distribu
tion of money to our General Council of $1,000.
I believe in giving back to the Tribe by being involved
in the community and tribal committees. I am currently
Chairman of the Timber Committee and have served
for 10 years. I will continue to support the importance
of preserving our heritage and culture to pass on to fu
ture tribal members.
In closing I would ask for your support and would
appreciate your vote in September. Gene LaBonte for
Tribal Council.
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EARL FLOYD
"DUTCH" LADOHTE
I am 55 years old and I think it is time for tribal mem
bers to start working on Trust Land for tribal members.
Tribal members need equity to build on.
It's time for tribal members to get a helping hand with
economic development, such as a tribal member farm
ers' co-op.
Tribal Council members need to know when to hire
technical consultants for their assistance.
I am ready to work for tribal members, and I would
appreciate your support for Tribal Council.
DELORES EDVARDS
(photo unavailable)
I currently live in Eugene, Oregon with my husband,
Doug, and three daughters: Wendy, Carrie, and Becky.
I am 41 years old and have a very diverse background.
I am the youngest of nine children, and have been a
single mother. I have suffered through a spouse's alco
hol and drug abuse. My past experiences will assist me
in being a compassionate and sympathetic while assist
ing tribal members in finding any assistance they may
need.
I attended high school in Springfield, Oregon, then
attended Lane Community College. I have been work
ing for an economic development program for the last
ten years. I have extensive experience in business, gov
ernment, and economic development.
I want to be on the Tribal Council, not because I feel
the Councils in the past have done a bad job, but be
cause I want the opportunity to build on what has been
done in the past. I feel we all should be proud of what
has gone on at Grand Ronde the last few years. We can
all see that things have progressed immensely. Along
with my business experience and knowledge of govern
ment bureaucracy, I have excellent organizational skills
and am very good at tracking and handling numerous
projects at once.
Although the Tribe has come a long way in the last
ten years, the one thing we really need to work on is
unity. This is the area I would work on first if elected
to Tribal Council. Many of the tribal members have
voiced that they feel they are not as much part of the
Tribe as the members who live in the Grand Ronde area.
Let's face it, all of us can't move and live in the area.
We can't say "Where were you ten years ago?" but need
to recognize that whether you are tribal member roll
number 1 or 5,000, you are a tribal member and all are
equal. This problem of unity is what I feel needs the
most attention. Even though we hear all the time that
we have the same benefits and rights, as long as there
are people who don't feel this is true, there is work to be
done for unity. My main focus would be to connect
with any tribal member with a question or concern about
their rights as a Grand Ronde tribal member or as a Na
tive American in general. I would be accessible to all
who contact me and work on the problem until is solved.
Granted, I won't have all of the answers right away,
and they may not always be what you want to hear, but
you will get an answer.
As a hobby, I have been studying my heritage and
how it ties into Grand Ronde. Being very proud of my
heritage I find it very interesting to trace the ancestors
who have brought us to where we are today. My great
grandparents, Victoria and Rock Pichette, lived on the
Grand Ronde reservation in the 1800s, and it is from
them that my family gets their tie to the Tribe. Some of
the other families in my heritage are: Dompier, Despard,
Pelland, and Perrault. Probably, many of you share the
same ancestors.
I would be proud to serve on the Tribal Council for
Grand Ronde and would look at it not only as an impor
tant job, but as an honor.
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