Native American Press/Ojibwe News

MCT election results: six new faces on the RBCs

Dupuis, Heisler and LaRose win Secretary/Treasurer seats, Caribou, Morrison and Weyaus re-elected

By Clara NiiSka - June16,2002
Three new Secretary/Treasurers will be seated on MCT tribal councils as a result of the June 11th elections.

At Fond du Lac: Kevin Depuis challenged Ferdinand Martineau, Jr. for the seat being vacated by Pete Defoe, who is retiring. Depuis won by 5.8% of the vote, 573 – 510.

At Leech Lake: current incumbent Linda Johnston did not file for re-election. Arthur “Archie” LaRose and Fred K. Jackson, Jr. emerged from a fourteen-way primary election as contenders for Johnston’s seat. LaRose won the June 11th election by 18.6% of the vote, 1158 – 795.

And at White Earth, challenger Franklin “Bud” Heisler ousted incumbent Erma J. Vizenor by 4.5% of the vote, 1357 – 1241.

The three new RBC officers elected to the Tribal Executive Committee may be offset by three returning incumbents.

The incumbent Secretary/Treasurer at Bois Forte, David C. Morrison, Sr. retained his seat by a vote margin of 7%, 350 – 304.

At Grand Portage, incumbent Gilbert Caribou withstood Dean F. Deschampe’s challenge, winning by 14% of the vote, 206 – 154. Caribou came into office four years ago with a one vote margin, 171 – 170.

And at Mille Lacs, incumbent Herb Weyaus remains in power, defeating Sheldon Boyd by an 18.5% margin, 442 – 304. The incumbent District II and III reps also remain in office.

There were two rep / committeeman seats for which no incumbent ran: District II rep at Fond du Lac and one of the committeeman at large seats at Grand Portage. Eight incumbent reps / committeemen remained in office: Distict I rep at Bois Forte, District II (Sawyer) rep at Fond du Lac, the other committeeman at large at Grand Portage, both committeemen at Leech Lake, both reps at Mille Lacs, and District I rep at White Earth. The only race in which the incumbent rep was ousted was for District II rep at White Earth, where Tony Wadena beat incumbent Terrance Burnette by 13.4% of the vote, 511 – 390.

Tribal elections, only briefly addressed by the MCT Constitution (Article IV), are regulated by twenty-four pages of detail in the Minnesota Chippewa Election Ordinance #8, adopted unanimously at a special meeting of the Tribal Executive Committee on March 6, 2001. (Ordinance #8 is posted on Fond du Lac’s official website, at http://www.fdlrez.com/electionordinance.htm).

The deadline for a Request for Recount of ballots in the June 11th election is June 14, and the deadline for a Notice of Contest is 5 p.m. on June 18th.

The winners in the June 11th MCT general election must be seated and sworn into office on or before July 9th, unless the results of the election are subject to appeal in the tribal court of election appeals.