Holy cow! It just won’t stop. 😦
From the Record-Eagle:
TRAVERSE CITY — Yet another challenge has arisen in the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ quest to install a chairman.
On Sept. 24, Derek Bailey defeated two-term incumbent chairman Bob Kewaygoshkum 256 to 186 for the four-year chairman position. That election was scheduled after a tribal court threw out the regularly scheduled May chairman election, in which Kewaygoshkum beat Bailey 233 to 210.
Bailey said it’s his understanding eight people filed nine separate challenges to the recent election, but he couldn’t provide details.
“I do recognize and honor the election challenge process,” he said. “(But) all of these challenges are personal character attacks and, or, are an … attack on the tribal judiciary’s ruling that was reached in August.”
Bailey challenged the results of the May election because the band’s election board issued an e-mail censuring him for using a tribal computer to visit his campaign Web site.
The mass e-mail was sent less than 24 hours before the election to all tribal gambling and government employees. A tribal appeals court in August ruled the action was “far outside the scope of the authority granted to the election board under the Constitution” and granted a new election.
The recent challenges will go before tribal officials.
“The election board will make a determination as to whether any of the complaints are valid,” Tribal Councilwoman Sandra Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon didn’t know when the board will examine the complaints.
Kewaygoshkum and tribal election board chairman Sam Evans didn’t return repeated calls for comment.
Bailey believes his victory will be upheld.
“I am confident that none of these challenges (will overturn) the special election,” he said.
Turtle Talk 