Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 7.2.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS JULY 2, 2014 | 15 Blackfeet Tribe Elects New Council
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Despite concerns about the election’s legitimacy, both factions of the Blackfeet council accept results of June 24 election
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
The two dueling factions of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council have accepted the results of last week’s gener- al election, clearing the way for a unified government for the first time in eight months.
On June 24, Harry Barnes, Joe McK- ay, Nels St. Goodard, Tyson R. Wolf and Scott Kipp were all elected to five open seats on the nine-member tribal council east of the divide.
Initially, after the votes were count- ed, the council faction led by Roger Run- ning Crane, Shannon Augare, Leonard Guardipee and Chief Earl Old Person announced that they would not accept the results of the election because they believed it was illegal. At the core of their protest was the appointment of the election board by the opposing tribal council faction, led by Chairman Willie Sharp Jr. According to Augare, the en- tire council should have appointed the election board. Earlier this year, even the Bureau of Indian Affairs cast doubts on the election if only one faction of the council appointed the election board.
But Chairman Sharp, who was one of three incumbents ousted during the June 3 primary, said the election was le- gal, regardless of what the BIA or Augare
Browning on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
accused.
“If I had rigged the election then I’d
still be on the council, right?” Sharp told the Beacon last week. “The process went on and the people have spoken.”
Three days after the election, the faction led by Augare and Running Crane changed their tune and sent a let- ter to BIA Acting Regional Director Dar- ryl LaCounte, urging him to accept the results of the June 24 election.
“While the four of us believe the constitution was not followed, we don’t see any reason to delay seating these new members. We need a working gov- ernment now,” Augare told the Beacon. “We hope the BIA quickly recognizes the newly elected BTBC members so we
can move forward.”
The five newly elected council mem-
bers will be sworn in on July 10 dur- ing the North American Indian Days in Browning. They will join Chief Old Per- son, Forrestina Calf Boss Ribs, Cher- yl Little Dog and Bill Old Chief on the council and the group of nine will select a brand new chairman through a secret ballot.
The Blackfeet Tribal Business Coun- cil, the Browning-based governing body on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, has been in turmoil for more than two years, but the situation took a turn for the worse last October when the council split into two factions.
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Democrats File Election Complaint Against Zinke Zinke calls allegations ‘baseless’
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Montana Democratic Party filed a complaint June 30 with the Federal Election Commission seeking an investiga- tion into connections between Republican U.S. House candi- date Ryan Zinke and the super PAC he founded.
The Special Operations for America political action com- mittee is coordinating with the Zinke campaign committee, the complaint said. The two groups used the same research consultant last year, according to the complaint.
Super PACs are allowed to spend money to support or op- pose candidates, but they’re not allowed to coordinate with them.
“These were baseless allegations when they were filed in the primary and are baseless allegations now,” Zinke said in a statement. “They are a recycling of old Democratic press re- leases, and are simply more politics and less leadership.”
Two Washington, D.C.-based advocacy groups filed a simi- lar FEC complaint in March. The FEC has not yet issued a rul- ing.
Special Operations for America has been running ads sup- porting Zinke, a former state senator of Whitefish, since he
John Lewis, left, and Ryan Zinke at the U.S. House debate at Montana Tech in Butte. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
stepped down as its chairman to announce his candidacy. The group has spent more than $185,000 in support of Zinke.
Zinke faces Democrat John Lewis in November’s U.S.
House election.
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