SEPTEMBER 15, 201 1
Smoke Signals 7
7
.c-xiU'' . v. -
Photos by Michelle Alalmo
June Sharer cam in second, waiving 404 votas, in tha Tribal Council
alaction on Saturday, Sept. 1 0. Sha ratums to Tribal Council aftar taking a
yaar off to tpand tima with har grandchildran.
1 s m
r 7 J
Nawly ra-alactad Tribal Council Sacratary Kathlaan Tom talks with Tribal
Eldar Raymond Patit aftar ha congratulated har on balng ra-alactad during
tha Ganaral Council maating hald at Tribal Community Cantar on Sunday,
Sapt. 1 1.Tom cama in third with 315 votas.
1,264 casft woftes Dim 2(0)1 1 TirnlbaD eflectiDOiro
ELECTION continued
from front page
was re-elected to a new three-year
term, unseating incumbent Wink
Soderberg.
Of the top eight vote-getters
in the 2011 election, seven were
either incumbent Tribal Council
members or former Tribal Council
members.
In the last four Tribal Council
elections, only one political new
comer without previous Tribal
Council experience has managed
to win election and that was Toby
McClary in 2009.
Leno, who captured his sixth
straight three-year term in office,
led the vote tally with 431 votes.
"To be elected six times to Tribal
Council is a real honor to me," Leno
said during the Sept. 11 General
Membership meeting.
Sherer, who took a year off from
Tribal Council to spend time with
her grandchildren, returned to
Tribal politics with a second-place
tally of 404 votes. This will be Sher
er's fourth term on Tribal Council.
"I had a lot of support from Tribal
members who called me up and
asked me to run," Sherer said.
Tom was elected to her third
straight term on Tribal Council,
receiving 315 votes.
"I'm happy. Very happy," Tom
said about retaining her seat.
Former longtime Tribal Council
Chairman Mark Mercier finished
fourth with 301 votes and former
Tribal Mentorship & Workforce De
velopment Director Denise Harvey
received 287 votes.
Finishing sixth was former Tribal
Council member Jan Reibach with
266 votes followed by Soderberg
with 252 votes, former Tribal Coun
cil member Buddy West with 206
votes, Brenda Tuomi with 173 votes
and Clifford Olson with 144 votes.
The rest of the Tribal Council
candidate field included former
longtime Tribal employee Da
kota Whitecloud, 135 votes; former
Tribal Council member Margaret
Provost, 129 votes; Tribal Elder
Harold Lyon, 91 votes; Tribal', em
ployee Perri McDaniel, 90 votes;
Tribal employee Khani Schultz, 66
votes; Michael Bolton, 64 votes; and
LeLani Folden, 57 votes.
"I think that people really see
what kind of person you are and
what you stand for," Tom said about
Tribal voters choosing tried-and-true
leadership. "I think that, in
some cases, big block families vote
collectively and some people get
reappointed that way. But I also
think that people also look at the
value of their Tribal Council mem
bers and whether they are really
supportive of the membership. I
think that has a lot to do with it."
Leno said he thought the con
tinuing difficulties in the national
economy prompted Tribal members
to favor experienced leadership
even if they were not happy with
everything a particular candidate
stands for.
"I think it is a reflection of the
economy where people are not will
ing to take a risk," Leno said. 'They
are not happy on some issues, but
are not willing to take a risk on a
whole total new group of people on
Tribal Council."
"I believe that the membership is
waiting to get more knowledge from
those people who are not elected,"
Sherer said. "They are not out there
enough in the community to try and
make their positions well enough
known or they are people who have
not taken a big part in the govern
ment before. ... People are more
willing to go with the known than
the unknown."
Tom said her priorities for her
third term include working collab
oratively with other Tribal Council
members on enrollment issues and
accountability.
"I'm really looking forward to
that and having a stronger ethics
ordinance to hold Tribal Council
accountable, in addition to staff,"
Tom said.
Leno said the election results
tell him that the Tribe wants ac
countability from Tribal Council
members.
"That was what I ran on," Leno
said. "My priorities for my sixth term
are to rewrite the council ordinance
and hold council accountable."
Sherer concurred on Tribal Coun
cil accountability being a big issue.
"(The results) said to me that
people wanted change," Sherer
said. "It said that there are some
problems with accountability on
council and that they want council
to be more responsible for their
actions and attendance. I believe
that if we work right, work hard,
council together, that we can make
those changes in our ordinance to
protect our membership and pro
tect our council.
"My biggest priorities are to
change our Tribal Council ordi
nance. That's the biggest priority. I
think we need to put more input into
the needs of the membership and
less into Tribal Council's budget."
Turnout in the 2011 election im
proved slightly over previous years
at 32.88 percent, up from 2010's 29
percent. Of the 3,844 eligible mem
bers, 1,264 cast votes, said Election
Board Chair Penny DeLoe.
However, turnout was still below
the highs of 2007 and 2008, when
more than 37 percent of eligible
voters submitted ballots. B
&ihSm&mm mjih ii ihz son ,
W Wm& wiigH Whiten at: j !
litems flLUtTnn ... ?
( tfifmuKdikiiii) mm
14
Ad created by George Valdez