Tribal Government & News

13 Tribal members running for Tribal Council

06.27.2012 Dean Rhodes Tribal Council, Elections, General Council

Thirteen Tribal members were nominated to run for three open Tribal Council seats and all accepted at a special General Council meeting held in the Tribal Community Center on Sunday, June 24.

As of the day of nominations for Tribal Council, 3,892 Tribal members are eligible to vote in the election slated for Saturday, Sept. 8. Last year, of 3,844 eligible to vote, 1,136 ballots were counted.

Eligible voters must be registered to vote and all can register up to and including Election Day on Sept. 8. Each eligible voter is entitled to vote for up to three candidates.

Of the 13 nominees, the top three vote-getters will fill three vacancies, which are seats currently held by Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy, Tribal Council member Toby McClary and the seat formerly held by Valorie Sheker, whose seat was vacated on May 30 after she missed three consecutive Tribal Council meetings that were all unexcused by Tribal Council.

The Tribal Constitution requires Chairwoman Kennedy to nominate a Tribal member to fill the vacancy, but no timeline is specified and no nomination had been made.

Following are the nominators followed by the nominees:

  • Tribal Council member Kathleen Tom nominated Andy Jenness;
  • Chip Tom nominated Kennedy;
  • Evelyn Seidel nominated Brenda Tuomi;
  • Joe Loomis nominated Denise Harvey;
  • Jerry George nominated Jon George;
  • John Mercier nominated Lonnie Leno;
  • Brian Krehbiel nominated Billy Bobb;
  • Andrew Freeman nominated Solomon George;
  • Solomon George nominated Mark Mercier;
  • Marion Mercier nominated McClary;
  • Betty Kumpula nominated Allen Lane-Butler;
  • Charles Haller nominated Charles Haller II;
  • and Bob Haller nominated Jessie Knight.

The number of nominees was four less than ran for Tribal Council in 2011 and two less than ran in 2010.

Among the incumbents, Kennedy is finishing her fourth consecutive term on Tribal Council and McClary is ending his first term on Tribal Council.

Ballots will be mailed to voters with verified signatures on July 25. Tribal members may create a verified signature card at any time up to and including Election Day.

Starting July 23 through Election Day, the Election Office in the Community Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and can be reached at 503-879-2271.

Candidate statements are due in the Publications office by 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, and will be featured in the next issue of Tilixam Wawa, slated to be mailed out the following week.

Candidates are limited to 600-word statements and candidates are strongly encouraged to submit their statements via e-mail to news@grandronde.org or on a compact disc. Hand-written statements are discouraged to avoid transcription errors and late statements will not be accepted for any reason.

Candidate statements will run "as is," meaning the Tribe's Publications staff will not edit the submissions in any way other than to ensure they do not exceed 600 words in length.

Candidates also should contact Tribal photographer Michelle Alaimo at 503-879-1961 or michelle.alaimo@grandronde.org to schedule a time to have their portrait taken for Tilixam Wawa, or candidates can submit their own photo.

A Tribal Council Candidate Forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, in the Tribal gym.

Election results will be counted at the Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 8, and posted that evening on the Community Center's front doors.