Nine vying for Tribal Council

Nine Tribal members were nominated to run for three open Tribal Council seats and all accepted during a General Council meeting held at the Tribal Community Center on Sunday, June 26.

Tribal Council elections will be determined on Saturday, Sept. 10. Eligible voters must be registered to vote and can register up to and including on Election Day. Each eligible voter is entitled to vote for up to three candidates.

Of the nine nominees, the top three vote getters will fill three vacancies created when the terms of Tribal Council Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr., Denise Harvey and Ed Pearsall expire. Giffen and Harvey are seeking re-election to their fifth and second terms, respectively, while Pearsall decided he will not run for Tribal Council again.

Following are the nominators followed by the nominees:

• Tribal member Miranda Rodriguez nominated Tribal Elder Jackie Many Hides;

• Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr. nominated Tribal member Michael Langley;

• Tribal member Bryan Langley nominated Spirit Mountain Community Fund Director Kathleen George;

• Tribal Elder Les Houck nominated Giffen for re-election;

• Tribal Elder Val Grout nominated Tribal Elder and Member Services Manager Penny DeLoe;

• Tribal member Joshua Darcy-Chantell nominated Tribal member Jason Darcy;

• Tribal Council member Chris Mercier nominated Harvey for re-election.

• Tribal Elder Ed Larsen nominated Tribal Youth Prevention Supervisor Lisa Leno.

• And Tribal Elder Ann Lewis nominated Tribal member Monty Herron.

Ballots will be mailed out to voters with verified signatures on Wednesday, July 27. Tribal members may create a verified signature card at any time up to and including Election Day.

Starting Monday, July 25, through Thursday, Sept. 1, the Election Office in the Community Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a half-hour lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The office can be reached at 503-879-2271.

Candidate statements are due to the Publications office by 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, and will be featured in the next edition of Tilixam Wawa, scheduled to be mailed out the following week.

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

Candidate statements 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. Deadline for photos is also 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 6.

A Candidates Forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, in the Tribal gym in Grand Ronde. Questions for Tribal Council candidates may be e-mailed to candidatequestion@grandronde.org. Please include your name and roll number.

Ballots will be counted at the Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 10, and election results will be posted that evening on the Community Center’s front doors.