S moke S ignals
AUGUST 15, 2017
11
Preschool
graduation
Early Childhood Education’s Preschool Teacher/Education
Coordinator Kristina Jaquith gives Alex Butcher a hug as he receives
his certificate during the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Preschool Graduation held in the Tribal gym on Thursday, Aug. 10.
Kalea Liebelt receives help putting on her graduation gown from Early
Childhood Education’s Preschool Teacher/Education Coordinator Kristina
Jaquith as she prepares for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Preschool
Graduation held in the Tribal gym on Thursday, Aug. 10. Thirty students
graduated this year and a dinner followed the graduation ceremony.
Graduating students were Abbie Haffner, Alex Butcher, Aiden Campbell,
Armando Contreras, Adahy LaBonte, Evelynn Huff, Gabriel Langley, Hanora
Diaz, Hemi Haight, Jack Mercier, Jayde Diaz, Kinleigh Bailey, Kalea Liebelt,
Kalani Johnson, Liam Batey, Leonidas Pond, Neomyah Guzman, Robert Haller,
Taylor Ruggles, Ayden Ruiz, Brett Hembree, Haven Conklin, Kiara Gettle,
Isaiah Ibarra, Nolen DeLoe,
Desirae Hernandez, Hudson
Hubble, Riley Freeman and Eva
Juardo.
Tribal Chinuk Immersion apprentices Santiago Atanacio, left,
and Jade Colton, right, help Armando Contreras put his cedar hat
on as they prepare for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Preschool Graduation held in the Tribal gym on Thursday, Aug.
10. Armando is Atanacio’s nephew.
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Election is smallest field of candidates since 1993
ELECTION VOTE
continued from front page
membership to work hard to earn
their vote,” George said about how
she thinks she became the most re-
cent member of the 600-vote club. “I
think how hard a candidate works
in the campaign is a good indicator
of how hard they will work after the
campaign. It takes a commitment
to getting out there and talking to
as many Tribal members as you
can, meeting with as many Tribal
members as you can. … That’s what
I tried to do.”
George said she met with Tribal
members all spring and summer
in 2016, driving all over the state
for candidate forums and family
reunions in southern Oregon that
she was invited to, and she devel-
oped a website.
She also didn’t just preach to the
choir, she said.
“I really did prioritize having con-
versations with people who I knew
didn’t completely hold the same
views as me, and that’s important,”
George said. “It’s important for peo-
ple to know that even if you have
disagreements that you sincerely
listen to them and you want to
understand their point of view be-
cause that is critical for our council
to do throughout their term.”
Blackwell, the first Tribal Council
candidate to surpass the 600-vote
mark, said she thinks the campaign
she ran 13 years ago was the first to
create a website and send mailers
to Tribal voters.
“I was definitely surprised by it,
but we did do a lot of things that
were different,” Blackwell said.
“That was the first year that we
started going out to different areas
all around the state to visit with
Tribal members. We did a lot of
mailings. I did a lot of postcards
because I wanted to send mailings
that people would have to read that
they wouldn’t have to open. … At
the time, there wasn’t a lot of out-
reach happening.”
Blackwell said that she also
thinks that because she grew up
in Grand Ronde and was the Com-
munity Fund director, like George,
also played a part in catapulting
her above 600 votes.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” Black-
well said. “It was my first time to
run so I wasn’t even sure I was
going to win. I was surprised to
win. I was surprised to get over
600 votes.”
The possibility of a 700-vote total
this year is attainable considering
there are only six candidates run-
ning for Tribal Council, the small-
est field of candidates since 1993.
In addition, Tribal Council Chair-
man Reyn Leno is stepping down
after 21 years of service. He re-
ceived 558 votes in this last run for
Tribal Council in 2014.
Over the last five Tribal Council
elections between 2012 and ’16, an
average of 3,422 total votes have
been cast. Tribal members are
permitted to vote for up to three
candidates.
For a candidate to reach the 700-
vote threshold assuming an aver-
age number of total votes cast, he
or she would need to capture 20.45
percent of the vote this year.
Although that doesn’t sound like
much, in past Tribal Council elec-
tions only three candidates have
ever received more than 20 percent
of the total votes cast: Kennedy in
2006 and Mark Mercier and Leon
Tom in 1993.
However, the 600-vote club may
increase this year. Again, assuming
an average number of total votes
cast, a candidate would only need
to capture 17.5 percent of the total
votes cast to reach 600 or more
votes, a feat that has been accom-
plished several times in Tribal
Council elections.
Of course, much depends on voter
turnout as well. Since 2011, a ma-
jority of Tribal Council races have
seen a turnout of eligible voting
members – those 18 or older – in
the low 30-percent range.
This year, Tribal Council candi-
dates are incumbents Tonya Glea-
son-Shepek and Chris Mercier and
challengers Mark Mercier, Michael
Langley, Lisa Leno and David Lew-
is. Angela Schlappie withdrew from
the race in late July.
Tribal Election Day is Saturday,
Sept. 9. Ballots were mailed to Trib-
al voters on Wednesday, July 26.
Candidate statements appeared in
the July Tilixam Wawa, which was
mailed first class to Tribal members
in mid-July.
Three advisory votes
In addition to voting for three
Tribal Council candidates, Tribal
voters are being asked to weigh in
on three advisory votes with a com-
bined seven questions. A “yes” vote
means the voter is recommending
Tribal Council consider the specific
topic or action.
The first advisory question, which
is yes or no, asks if the Tribe should
consider investing in Elder mar-
ket-rate units in Tribal housing.
The second question asks if the
Tribe should consider investing in
the cannabis industry and gives vot-
ers three options: medical marijuana,
recreational marijuana or hemp?
The final advisory vote asks if
constitutional enrollment require-
ments should be amended to do a
possible three things:
• Remove the requirement that the
applicant be born to a parent who
was a Tribal member at the time
of the applicant’s birth?
• Remove the requirement that the
applicant be born to a parent who
was a Tribal member at the time
the application is filed, if still living?
• Or replace the requirement that
an applicant have 1/16th Grand
Ronde blood as defined as all
Indian blood derived from an
ancestor on the Restoration Roll
with the pre-1999 amendment re-
quirement that an applicant have
1/16th Indian blood and descend
from a member of the Tribe?