General Council briefed on Spirit Mountain Casino

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Spirit Mountain Casino Chief Executive Officer Camille Mercier, Chief Operating Officer Clint Johnson and Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board Chairman Andy Jenness gave the first presentation of the 2023-24 General Council meeting cycle on Sunday, Sept. 10.

Mercier gave a 30-minute presentation in executive session and the trio then fielded 20 questions and comments from Tribal members in attendance.

Since the presentation was held in executive session, Smoke Signals cannot publish specific details.

In other action, Tribal Election Board member Michael Mercier delivered the Tribal Council election results from Saturday, Sept. 9, that saw two incumbents – Lisa Leno and Chris Mercier – re-elected to three-year terms. First-time challenger Matthew Haller secured the third seat, beating two-term Tribal Council member Michael Langley by one vote.

The one-vote separation between candidates is the closest in an election since 1983’s Restoration. The previous record for closest race between third and fourth place during a Tribal Council election occurred in 2015 when Tribal Council member Jon A. George received two more votes than the late Steve Bobb Sr. to capture a seat on Tribal Council.

The next General Council meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, and will feature an annual presentation on the Tribe’s endowments.

Haylee Dehart, Mike Portwood and David Leno won the $100 door prizes and Deborah Good, Kelli Matthews, Mike Wilson, Emma Leno and Peter Grout won the $50 prizes.

The non-executive session portion of the meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on the Government tab and then Videos.

Tribal members wanting to see the executive session portion should contact Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez at stacia.martin@grandronde.org or call 503-879-2304.