From the Leelanau Enterprise:
Three candidates have tossed their hats into the ring to serve as tribal chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
In addition, 21 other tribal members are running for three seats on the Tribal Council.
The GTB will hold a Primary Election on April 9 to narrow the field of candidates to two running for tribal chairman and six running for seats on the Tribal Council. The Regular Election is slated to be held on May 21, with newly elected or re-elected officials taking office the following day.
Tribal Election Board chairman Sam Evans said that the deadline for candidates to declare their candidacy was March 3. He explained that a list of candidates will not be available until after March 17, the deadline for completing a background check of all candidates. The background check, which includes fingerprinting, eliminates any convicted felons from running for office.
Although no candidate list was available this week, it’s clear that at least one incumbent tribal councilor, Derek Bailey, is hoping to fill Tribal Chairman Robert Keywaygoshkum’s seat. Lawn signs declaring Bailey’s candidacy for tribal chairman have appeared along roadways near the reservation in Peshawbestown. Bailey’s four-year term as a tribal councilor is slated to expire in May.
Kewaygoshkum is nearing the end of his second, four-year term as tribal chairman. It was not clear at press time whether he was running for re-election, nor was the identity of a third candidate for tribal chairman immediately available. Four-year terms are also expiring for Tribal Councilors Sandy Witherspoon and David Arroyo .
The terms of three other incumbent tribal councilors will expire in 2010. Tribal Councilor Rebecca Woods, Tribal Council vice chairman Cornelia “Connie” Two Crow and treasurer Joseph “Buddy” Raphael emerged victorious from a highly contentious 2006 election process that did not end until January 2007.
Two of the top candidates in the April 2006 Primary Election were removed from the race after they were accused of improper campaign activities. Subsequently, there were allegations of impropriety against the Election Board, a fight in Tribal Court, the postponment of two rescheduled elections, and a series of changes in tribal election rules for 2008.
Evans said new election rules, adopted on Jan. 31, clarify how campaigns may be run and how absentee ballots are handled. He expressed hope that the 2008 election cycle would go more smoothly than 2006.
Although the GTB boasts around 4,000 members, only adults residing in the tribe’s six-county service area are allowed to vote in tribal elections. Some 38 percent of about 400 eligible voters appeared at three polling places in the region to vote in the latest tribal election, held on Jan. 25, 2007.
The voter registration deadline for the April 9 primary is April 1 at 4 p.m.
Turtle Talk 