S moke S ignals
SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
7
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Newly elected Tribal Council member Michael
Langley is sworn in by Tribal Court Chief Judge
David Shaw in Tribal Council Chambers in the
Governance Center on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
Newly re-elected Tribal Council member Chris
Mercier is sworn in by Tribal Court Chief Judge
David Shaw in Tribal Council Chambers in the
Governance Center on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
Newly elected Tribal Council member Lisa Leno is
sworn in by Tribal Court Chief Judge David Shaw
in Tribal Council Chambers in the Governance
Center on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
Turnout in 2017 is 32.6 percent
ELECTION continued
from front page
received 554 votes, losing by three
votes to incumbent Denise Harvey.
Langley, Mercier and Leno were
sworn into office on Wednesday,
Sept. 13, by Tribal Court Chief
Judge David Shaw after Cultural
Resources Department drummers
performed a warrior song called
“The Challenge Song” meant to
challenge the council members to
“be the best, bring the best and get
things done.”
“I was honored,” Langley said af-
ter the swearing-in ceremony about
receiving more than 700 votes. “I
felt pretty good about how things
were going, but I wasn’t expecting
that. I think I did bring some unique
characteristics. I think that hope-
fully when people were looking at
the three people (to vote for), I just
appeared more on that.”
Langley said he thought that
the experience he garnered from
running in 2016 helped him run a
better campaign this year, as well
as delivering the same message to
all Tribal members.
“I feel like I have been preparing
for this my whole life, so I’m excited,”
he said.
Leno said her campaign reflected
who she has been in the community
for more than two decades.
“I was very honored and humbled
to be elected,” she said after the
swearing-in ceremony. “I felt like all
of the candidates ran a really posi-
tive campaign and I hope that that
kind of shift continues for the future.
I felt confident going in and I really
made sure that I ran a campaign
that was congruent with just who I
am as an individual and who I have
been in this community for 22 years.
“I felt comfortable with knowing
that I had done things the best way
that I knew how to do them and
whatever the membership decided
that was their choice. They get to
make the decision and I could live
with whatever their decision is.”
Leno said she wants to concentrate
on getting accustomed to being a
Tribal Council member after spend-
ing more than two decades in youth
prevention.
Langley and Leno become the 47th
and 48th Tribal members elected to
Tribal Council since 1983’s Resto-
ration. Their election also reduces
The only advisory vote question that
received widespread support was cre-
ating market-rate housing for Elders,
which was supported 792-408.
the average age of Tribal Council
members to 54.3 years old and main-
tains the female majority on council.
Incumbent Tonya Gleason-Shepek
received 613 votes for fourth place,
ending her first three-year term on
Tribal Council. She became the first
Tribal Council candidate to receive
more than 600 votes and not win a
seat.
Former Tribal Historian David
Lewis received 533 votes in his first
run for Tribal Council and former
longtime Tribal Council Chairman
Mark Mercier received 525 votes.
Spirit Mountain Casino IT Sys-
tems Administrative Supervisor An-
gela Schlappie, who withdrew from
the Tribal Council race in late July
but too belatedly to have her name
removed from the ballot, received
62 votes.
Of the 4,135 Tribal members
eligible to vote because they were
18 years of age or older on Election
Day, 1,349 cast ballots for a turnout
of 32.6 percent. Turnout in 2016 was
32.5 percent.
With Tribal voters able to vote for
up to three candidates each, 4,047
votes were possible, but only 3,784
votes were counted for a 263 under
vote.
Langley and Leno replace Glea-
son-Shepek and Tribal Council
Chairman Reyn Leno, who did not
seek re-election after serving seven
consecutive terms, on Tribal Coun-
cil and Chris Mercier will serve his
fifth term. Terms of office will run
through September 2020.
The small number of candidates
contributed to Langley reaching the
700-vote mark. Tribal voters had the
smallest field of candidates since
1993 from which to choose.
“I think the people who won,
especially Michael and I, when we
campaigned we talked about spe-
cific things that we wanted to see
done, policy goals” Chris Mercier
said. “I think the one theme that
I got during the election is … just
the questions directed toward me
were about openness. People want
to know more about what is going
on in the Tribal government. I think
they like some of the steps we are
taking, but the sense I got is that the
government is still not open enough
for Tribal members who really want
to know about it.”
Chris Mercier said he was not
surprised to see a candidate finally
shatter the 700-vote ceiling.
“I figured if it was ever going to
happen, this would be the year,”
he said. “With only six candidates,
there was far less vote dilution than
you’ve had in the past. I had a hunch
one or two people might do it.”
Chris Mercier said this probably
Graphic created by George Valdez
be his last run for Tribal Council
while he is young. “I could see com-
ing back post-retirement and doing
it,” he said, adding that he wants to
obtain his law degree and work in
Indian Country.
Gleason-Shepek said she will take
some time off before considering an-
other run for Tribal Council.
Advisory votes
Tribal voters also were asked
three advisory vote questions during
the Tribal Council election and the
results indicate that any changes in
Tribal enrollment requirements are
going to be difficult to pass consid-
ering the constitutionally required
two-thirds majority to take effect.
Tribal voters voted “no” on all
three parts of the enrollment re-
quirements question. Removing the
requirement that an applicant be
born to a parent who was a Tribal
member at the time of the appli-
cant’s birth was opposed 683 to 541;
removing the requirement that the
applicant be born to a parent who
was a Tribal member at the time
the enrollment application is filed
was opposed 705-493; and returning
to the pre-1999 amendment blood
quantum requirements was opposed
654-574.
The three-part question about
the Tribe possibly entering the
marijuana business received a “yes”
vote twice. Tribal voters favored the
Tribe getting involved in the medical
marijuana business (818-445) and
hemp production (761-467), but
narrowly voted against becoming in-
volved in the recreational marijuana
business (632-601).
The only advisory vote question
that received widespread support
was creating market-rate housing
for Elders, which was supported
792-408.
“I think the two biggest surprises
were the enrollment ones. I guess
I thought they would be closer to
50 percent on all of them. I didn’t
know that any of them would reach
the 66 percent that is required to
pass a constitutional amendment. I
was a little surprised that those all
failed,” Chris Mercier said. “And the
recreational marijuana surprised
me. I didn’t think there would be a
big difference between that and the
medicinal one and hemp. I thought
for sure the votes on all three of
them would be about right.”