Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2005)
JULY 15, 2005 Smoke Signals 7 2005 Candidate Statements 0 Mike Larsen All Tribal members, Hello, my name is Mike Larsen and I'm running for Tribal Council. I believe I can do the job if given the opportunity to serve our people. 1 have watched our Tribe grow and achieve things that could have only been the wildest of dreams to our ancestors. I have also seen the problems that come with this growth and change. It has been very exciting to be a part of this, but we are only just beginning to experience some of the bigger challenges that we must endure. We must find out from all of our membership how we can do this. We need Tribal Council Members who know how to listen to their people, and provide them with answers to these problems. We need Tribal Council Members who know how to function as part of a leadership team. Who knows that it is okay to disagree, but also knows how to form consensus on the very important matters that are so vital to all of us. We also need Tribal Council Members who know how to show respect for all of our membership, and that starts at the top with showing respect for one another. If given the op portunity, I can help to do these things. I will not tell you that I can do these things alone. I can not. I can do it with the rest of the Council. I will try to explain to you why I want to be on our Tribal Council. I have had the privilege and honor to serve our membership in many ways for the past 13V& years. I have been employed by the Tribe for 13 V2 years. I have served on numerous boards for 12 years. Many of these years as the Chairman. I still serve on the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. board. I have served as Interim General Manager of our casino on two occasions. I have seen many things happen to us. During these times, I have learned that we need to keep the membership as informed and involved as possible. This involvement of members is one of the fastest growing areas of our Tribe, and we need to do a good job of handling matters in this area. We need to provide answers to the hard questions that are asked by our people. No question should be left unanswered, unless it is a breach of confidentiality. We should be very committed to making this happen. I will make this commitment. I know I can do a good job, if given the opportunity to serve on Tribal Council. If you believe I can do the job, please give me your vote and support. I was asked why I am running by myself. . . The main reason I have given for doing this is the fact that I believe in our membership. I believe our membership will get out and make the effort to vote and decide who our leaders should be. If you think I have the ability to get the job done, complete the arrow next to my name. I have faith and trust in all of you to make the right decisions without someone telling you what to do. I will give you Respect, Honesty, and Integrity. Please use your freedom of choice as I have, and support who can do the job. Please call my home phone if you have any questions. 503-876-3202. Thank you. LuuiElJ lift 00 dhul KA 111 WO 1 Ul VVlifil" jff t a Tribe and without a If J arvnf inn Hna f r M f astation caused by E A v . - f V 0 Monty Parazoo My name is Monty Parazoo. I feel that it is important to be on Tribal Council to give a voice to the people that have come before us and to pro tect the finances and values of the Tribe for the future generations. As a Tribal Elder who has lived most of my life with out rese dev termination, I know how important it is that the Tribal government be run in a fair, honest and productive way. I feel that the job of Tribal Council is to lead, to represent the membership and to provide direction for the future. You need to know something about me because I am asking for your trust in casting your vote for me. I am the fourth of nine children; my parents are Dorothy and Dewey Parazoo. I was married to my wonderful wife for 39 amazing years, Louise passed away a little over a year ago. We have two daughters and two grand daughters. My work history began at 12 when I started logging with my father. I joined the Navy in 1960, I was on the aircraft carrier USS Bennington. I worked on the crash crew on the flight deck. After serving my term in the military I became a professional firefighter for the City of Eugene. I attained the rank of Cap tain and also worked as training officer for the department. I was on the executive board for the Local 851 firefighter's union for 12 years and then vice-president for five years. I took early retirement due to a back injury in 1993. Since my retirement, I have been very active politically with the Tribe. My first experience was being chosen for the CTGR Housing Board. I then applied and was selected for the board of directors for Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. SMGI required a very stringent background check. After passing this background check I was given a Class Three Gaming license. This Primary Management OfficerPMO license is the highest level of license that the corporation issues. Where I stand: Enrollment: Children of Tribal members or descendants of any ancestor on any Grand Ronde roll should be eligible for enrollment. Forming a committee was a good first step but we have to stay vigilant until this problem is solved. Tribal Finances: Tribal members should be treated as stock holders in a unique corporation with the right to be involved in the process with regard to major financial decisions. Casino: Competition will not be a problem as long as we can make our casino the best run in the country. We need to have the best food, the best customer service, and have employees with a posi tive attitude. Revenue: We must diversify and expand the way we earn money. We must have a long-range plan 10 year, 20 year. Open Communication: Deliberation and decisions should be made in a public forum in order to ensure accountabil ity, integrity and common sense. Council needs to bring impor tant issues to general council meetings for input. Tribal members should be involved in decision-making. A monthly re port from Council chair should be presented at the start of each general council meeting. Tribal Council: A council member must respect the position, respect the other council members and work within the system for the betterment of the Tribe as a whole. Conflict, chaos, and strong feelings may characterize the process but at the end of the day, we are all brothers and sis ters in this Tribal family. Monty Parazoo Roll 2620
