Grout withdraws from Tribal Council race

For the second year in a row, a Tribal Council candidate has withdrawn from the race, but this year it was in time to have the candidate’s photo and name removed from the official ballot.

Peter Grout, 43, sent an e-mail to Smoke Signals and posted on Facebook on Saturday, July 21, announcing the end of his first campaign for Tribal Council. He officially notified the Tribe’s election officials on Monday, July 23.

“After doing some soul searching, I have decided to withdraw my bid for Tribal Council,” Grout wrote. “The short answer to why I’m withdrawing is simply because I feel that being a public figure is just not for me. This being said, I still plan to be involved with Tribal issues by attending council meetings and voicing my opinion and ideas. I encourage you all to do the same. Thank you to everyone who supported me through this process. It really meant a lot to me.”

Grout is a surveillance technician at Spirit Mountain Casino and is the son of former Tribal Council member Val Grout, who nominated him on June 24.

Grout participated in the first Grand Ronde PAC candidate forum that was held Saturday, July 7, in Grand Ronde, but was absent from the next Grand Ronde PAC forum held Saturday, July 14, in Portland.

In his Tribal Council statement sent to the membership in the July Tilixam Wawa, Grout said he favored resolving issues that arose from the 1999 enrollment amendment, finalizing the current audit process and getting Tribal youth more involved.

In 2017, Angela Schlappie withdrew from the Tribal Council race just before the Grand Ronde Candidates Forum that was held in late July and still received 62 votes in the September election. Her name and photo remained on the ballot.

With Grout bowing out of the race, there are now eight candidates seeking three seats: incumbents Cheryle A. Kennedy, Jon A. George and Brenda Tuomi, and challengers Kristina Helfrich, Brent Merrill, Jonathan R. George, Victor Cureton and Steve Bobb Sr.