From the Bellingham Herald:
Four members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe have filed suit in tribal court, challenging an election ordinance that requires tribal council candidates to pass a drug test before they can get on the ballot.
Charlotte Geleynse had hoped to be on the ballot for the March 15 election as a member of the “It’s Our Future” slate advocating sweeping change to tribal governance, but she refused to submit to the test.
“I just don’t feel it’s right that they’re requiring I do a urinalysis just to pick a candidate packet up to run for council,” Geleynse said.
The drug test requirement was added to the tribal election ordinance in 2005, effective for the 2006 election. Chellie Hammack, a Seattle attorney who filed the suit, said she will ask the court to declare the drug test unconstitutional.
“It’s both a violation of their right to privacy and a right to be free of unlawful search and seizure,” Hammack said.
Edward Wurtz, the tribe’s general counsel, disagreed. Wurtz will defend the tribe’s position before Kevin Conner, an attorney who serves as judge of the tribal court.
“The tribe’s position is that the tribe has followed the tribal constitution and bylaws in enacting the elections code,” Wurtz said. “They don’t feel that the complaint is correct.”
He declined further comment. Incumbent candidates, including Vice Chairman George Swanaset Sr., Treasurer Sandra Joseph and council members Candace Kelly and Richard George, have not responded to requests for interviews.
Council candidate Maureen “Mimi” Marshall did submit to the test and will be on the ballot, but she said her experience with the test shows that the legal complaint is justified. She said a tribal employee performed the urine test with paper test strips in front of several other people and then questioned her about her prescription medicines.
“He’s discussing my prescriptions in front of all these people,” Marshall said. “There were like four other people in the room, and he’s asking me what each of my prescriptions were for.”
Marshall, Geleynse and the other two plaintiffs, candidates Elvin Cline and Ralph MacWilliams, agreed that if the tribe’s legal right to conduct such tests is upheld, the testing should be performed by an independent lab, not by tribal employees who may have family ties to incumbent council members or other candidates.
No such tests are required of candidates for local or state offices. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Georgia law that required candidates for state office to pass a drug test.
Attorney Hammack said the lawsuit also challenges a tribal election ordinance that gives the tribal council full jurisdiction over all election matters, and states that the tribal court has no jurisdiction.
“From a legal perspective, limiting the tribal court’s jurisdiction is a huge issue,” Hammack said. Marshall, and Cline MacWilliams have pledged to push for other changes to the tribal government system if they are elected:
They want to add a primary election round to the council election process to replace the current winnertake- all system that frequently allows candidates to be elected or re-elected with a small minority of total votes cast. In 2006, Carmen Solomon was elected to the council with 19 percent of the votes, while Narz Cunanan, the current chairman, was re-elected with 38 percent.
They want to restore provisions for absentee balloting to enable members of the military and homebound elderly people to vote. The tribal council abolished absentee voting in 2004 after allegations of fraud.
They also want to establish a provision for convening a “general council” of all tribal members to consider some issues. Lummi Nation uses such a system.
Under the current system, tribe members only feel that they have input into tribal government every two years when elections are held, MacWilliams said.
“That’s the only time we get to have any say in government,” he said. “Otherwise it’s strictly the tribal council.”
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