Loading...
Loading...

Candidates Sue LCO Tribal Council Members Over New Election Ordinance

Candidates Sue LCO Tribal Council Members Over New Election Ordinance

HAYWARD, Wis -- All seven members of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board (TGB) were summoned to appear in tribal court for a hearing on Tuesday, May 9, in regards to a lawsuit filed by 10 candidates for the upcoming election.

In a press release issued by the petitioners, “The lawsuit was filed because the TGB passed a Tribal Resolution amending the Election Ordinance. The TGB adopted the new Ordinance on April 18, 2017, which was released three days later, on April 21, 2017, at the Election Caucus. There was no tribal membership input into the Ordinance, which changes the Tribal Constitution. Tribal members nominated for Tribal Governing Board did not know about the new requirements. Tribal members believe the new Ordinance is illegal.”

An outside tribal judge, Megan Treuer, was brought in to oversee the hearing. One of the petitioners and a candidate for TGB, Sue Aasen, represented the plaintiffs while LCO Tribal Attorney, Jason “Kekek” Stark represented the tribal governing board. Petitioners objected to Stark representing the board because he works for the LCO Tribe and shouldn’t have represented the board members in their “individual capacity.”

Five of the current TGB members appeared in person. They included Vice Chairman Rusty Barber, Secretary-Treasurer Norma Ross, Joel Valentin, Jason Weaver, and Rosalie Gokee. Chairman Mic Isham had an immediate family member in emergency surgery and Jason Schlender was a speaker at a conference in Tacoma, Washington. Both did participate on the phone.

The plaintiffs argued that the tribal governing board did not allow any input into the new ordinance by seeking comments from the members of the tribe, which violated their due process and equal protection rights.

The new ordinance was passed by the TGB just four days before the tribal caucus held on April 22. The tribal caucus is the meeting held at Lac Courte Oreilles where tribal members nominate persons to run for open seats to the TGB. 

Prior to this year’s election, a qualified candidate to the tribal governing board simply had to be a tribal member and have attained the age of 21. The new ordinance requires nominated candidates to pay a $200 fee, live within the “service area” of the tribe, which was defined as Sawyer County, and submit to a background check and drug testing. 

“Tribal council violated the constitution by adding these requirements,” Aasen told the court. “Those additional requirements are not in the constitution. In-order-to change the constitution, a process of a referendum must be followed which is defined in the tribal constitution under Article VI.”

Article VI states that a petition of at least 100 tribal members, or a majority of tribal governing board members, may petition the Bureau of Indian Affairs to conduct a Secretarial Election on behalf of the tribe to amend the constitution. After the referendum is held, the amendment needs to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

“The tribal council violated our rights and exceeded their authority. We are asking the ordinance be declared unconstitutional,” Aasen said.

The complaint and petition for injunctive relief was filed in LCO Tribal Court on Friday, May 5, and signed by 10 candidates for tribal elections. Those candidates include Susan Aasen, Gaiashkibos, Deanna Baker, Ron Gokey, Jeff Tribble, Jack Hamilton, Lynette Tribble, Anona LaRonge, Alvin Baker Jr. and Lori Taguma.

All the petitioners did appear in person except Ron Gokey, who Stark requested be removed from the lawsuit.

In the plaintiff’s press release, they state that, “The Tribe acting through the Election Committee has the authority to obtain information through personal interviews and acquaintances, business associates and to inquire into a nominee's character, personal characteristics, employment history and public record information such as civil judgements, criminal convictions, motor vehicle violations, as well as diplomas, degrees, licenses and transcripts. For doing all of this investigation, the Election Committee investigators are immune from liability for wrongdoing. The Election Committee then determines whether a person is a qualified candidate. This process causes a candidate to lose half of the time allowed to campaign for public office. The resulting date provides for only 12 days to run for office.”

The primary election is scheduled for May 20, only 11 days following the court hearing. The candidates weren’t even informed if their names would be put on the ballot until they showed up to the court hearing on Tuesday.

Three of the petitioners are running as write-in candidates while six of the candidates did sign their acceptance papers and followed the procedure set forth in the new ordinance, they told the court they did so under protest. 

One candidate, Gaiashkibos, refused to accept or decline his nomination, telling the court that if he did so, it would have acknowledged their wrongdoing. As a result, Gaiashkibos won’t be on the ballot and has claimed irreparable harm from the TGB’s actions.

The LCO Tribal Attorney told the court the lawsuit should be dismissed because none of the petitioners were hurt because they all qualified under the procedure. 

“They have failed to claim how the ordinance violated the constitution, plus the tribal council wasn’t the proper party. It should have been the Election Committee,” Stark said. “They should only be allowed to sue if they were denied to be on the ballot, which they were not.”

Stark cited Article IV of the tribal constitution which states that the TGB has the power to enact rules and regulations to conduct elections.

Jeff Tribble, one of the petitioners, said that part of the constitution only refers to where and when elections can be held. “What time the voting booths are open, not how they can determine which tribal members qualify to run for office.”

In the complaint filed by the petitioners, they claim tribal council violated the constitutional protections of due process and equal protection under Article VII, Members and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Sections 1301-1304.

In Article VII, it states about Members of the Tribe, “All members of the Band shall have equal political rights and equal opportunities to participate in the economic resources and assets, and no member shall be denied freedom of conscience, speech, religion, association or assembly.”

They also cite the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 which provides further protection for individuals: “No Indian tribe in exercising powers of self-government shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws or deprive any person of liberty or property without due process of law.”

The complaint also states that the tribal council didn’t allow for any input from the tribal membership through public meetings, postings of the proposed ordinance or have any general membership meetings to seek approval to change the constitution.

Former Chairman Testifies

The plaintiff's first witness was former chairman, Gaiashkibos, who served 20 years on the tribal council and 10 of those years as chair. 

“The first time I heard of this new ordinance was when police delivered it to my home,” Gosh told the court. He said he was nominated to run but wasn’t at the caucus on April 22. He said he refused to sign the acceptance because it would acknowledge what they did. “I believe what they did was clandestine and self-serving.”

Gosh further added, “It should be thrown out and everyone who was nominated should be allowed to run.”

Gosh also said that many tribal people can’t afford the $200 fee to run. He said he is currently unemployed and couldn’t afford the fee. 

Stark asked Gosh if he was a candidate. Gosh replied that he didn’t decline, he believed what the TGB did was illegal. Stark then asked him if he was harmed and Gosh replied, “Well, I’m not on the ballot, and that’s harm.”

Gosh told the court he believed that Stark should have been on the other side of the courtroom representing the people, not the individual members of the tribal council.

“This ordinance was self-serving for our board members. It’s limiting who can be on the ballot,” Gosh said.

Stark asked Gosh if he saw in Article IV on elections whether it stated that council had to hold a referendum to enact election ordinances. 

“I also don’t see in there where it gives the council the power to abridge the rights of our people,” Gosh replied.

Gosh further added, “During my tenure, we held forums throughout the communities and membership meetings. The people were informed and they had input.”

Jeff Tribble took the stand and said it is an inherent right of the LCO people to be able to hold a position on the tribal council. 

Chairman Isham Testifies

Chairman Mic Isham said that over the past two general membership meetings of the tribe, members were clear on wanting a background check. He said a current council member was under investigation for a crime that he was eventually cleared of, but, members, including the Elders Advisory Board, pushed for the changes in the election process so the tribe wouldn’t be put into an embarrassing position. 

“We had several meetings that were open to the public and we put it out there for comment and then we passed it,” Isham said. 

In-regards-to the $200 fee, Isham said it is a legitimate amount because of the costs of elections. He said it barely covers the cost of the drug testing. 

“If you can’t get people to give you money for your campaign, you probably won’t get elected anyway,” Isham said. He claimed this idea was discussed in their meetings.

Isham also said there is a background check for nearly all jobs at LCO. He said it also helps for getting bonded and insured, members of the council have to pass it anyways. He added, the TGB also serves as the LCO School Board and to serve in that capacity, you have to pass a background check.

“Drug testing is reservation-wide at LCO,” Isham said. “We’ve experienced a rash of prescription pill abuse and drug use in recent years, even resulting in a lot of deaths. We’ve had two states of emergency. We felt that we, as the council, are not above any of that, so we are included.”

Isham said he participated in the prerequisites of the new ordinance and it didn’t violate his rights.

“The burden of running for tribal council is the burden of the individual,” Isham said.

Closing Arguments

Aasen said Stark claimed the lawsuit is moot because the petitioners all qualified for the ballot, but, “There was no remedy for them, so they had to go through the process under protest.”

Aasen said Gaiashkibos couldn’t afford the $200 and is not on the ballot. He testified that he suffered irreparable harm. 

Aasen said they have filed the restraining order to stop the process of this new ordinance, even if it means postponing the primary election. 

“We just got notified today that we are candidates. That leaves us only 12 days to campaign. That’s not enough time,” Aasen said.

She said Stark claimed the lawsuit threatens the political process but the plaintiffs believe the new ordinance has threatened it.

“The members feel this ordinance changes their enrollment rights,” Aasen said. “We are asking that the ordinance be declared unconstitutional.”

Stark said Article IV provides the tribal council to prescribe rules and regulations to conduct elections. 

“They had public meetings. They had input from members. They posted it,” Stark said.

A question of what happens to the write-in candidate process was asked during the hearing. In his closing arguments, Stark cleared up the confusion. He said a write-in candidate can run and doesn’t have to go through the new election prerequisites. If the write-in candidate achieves enough votes to be in the top 6 in the primary, he will then be put on the ballot for the general election, but no write-ins may run in the general election. Stark said the election process, including the $200 fee, allows a candidate to have their name placed on the ballot. 

Judge Treuer told both parties that she would make a decision promptly because the primary election is so close. 

Last Update: May 11, 2017 2:14 pm CDT

Posted In

Share This Article

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...