Opposition strongest in Western Agency

Opposition to President Joe Shirley Jr.'s government reform initiatives was centered in the Western Agency, according to unofficial election results of the Dec. 15 special election.

With 41.7 percent of voters participating, 14 chapters voted against one or both of the initiative questions: whether to reduce the council from 88 to 24 members and whether to expand the president's veto authority over spending measures.

Specifically, 12 chapters voted against council reduction and 10 voted against the line-item veto.

"Twenty-four delegates, it's not going to work," said Patricia Bartlett, a voter in Tonalea Chapter. "It's too much work for our delegate."

Currently, Tonalea shares its delegate, Leslie Dele, with no other chapter. Bartlett was concerned that with only 24 council seats, her representative would have to report to several chapters.

Dele is constantly traveling back and forth to Window Rock as it is, she said.

"How would we add two or three more chapter meetings to (Dele's schedule)?" Bartlett asked. "We don't know which chapters we would be (grouped) with."

Despite the bad press that has befallen the council, Bartlett said she has a positive relationship with her delegate. Dele gave Bartlett money from his discretionary account to send her son to basketball camp with the Phoenix Suns, she said.

"There are a lot of things the delegates do to help the community, but all the focus is on the bad," Bartlett said.

As Bartlett sees it, the initiatives have driven the reservation apart. At the recent public forum held in Tuba City to explain the initiatives, she said people mostly argued.

"It just turned people against each other," she said. "Some people were just up there to talk against our delegates."

In the end, Bartlett has absolutely no hope for a system with 24 delegates.

"I just hope everything comes out OK," she said. "I hope we win because if 24 happens, then maybe ... that would be the end of everything."

Voters in Tonalea/Red Lake voted against council reduction by four votes.

Further north, in Shonto, voters also seemed to be leaning against both issues.

A voter who gave his name as "R. Tsosie" said he voted against both measures because Shirley's initiative was "lazy."

"We need to work out our political system if there are problems," Tsosie said. "If we run into a wall, we shouldn't just cut people off."

Tsosie thought it was likely that many of the 24 delegates elected to a smaller council would be incumbents, meaning the tribe would face the same problems.

Another Shonto voter, who identified herself as "G. Teller," said she voted against the initiatives because the current system is working fine.

"Everything is running smoothly," Teller said. "Making it 24 would be too much for our officials, they won't be able to help all the people."

Overall, however, Shonto voters approved both council reduction and the line-item veto.

Of course, if all voters were as riled up as Diane Fuller, it's no surprise.

"Reduce," she said simply. "There's too much spending."

A 50-ish doctoral candidate who works with high school students, Fuller said there is not enough money going to scholarships. Fuller has seen several students denied scholarships, including herself.

In Tuba City, voters favored Shirley's initiatives despite aggressive campaigning from Joetta Goldtooth, a liaison with the speaker's office. Goldtooth camped just outside the taped boundary surrounding the chapter house polling place and handed out flyers and asked people to vote "no" as they passed.

Goldtooth could not sway two middle-aged female voters. Brela Multine said the Navajo Nation needs change. Though she seemed unsure of what would happen with the new government plan, Multine said any change is good.

"There's a lot of problems coming up nowadays," Multine said of the council. "They put the president on administrative leave. There's no direction anymore."

Cheryl Barlow also thought change would stimulate the tribal system, and her comments underscored the subtle but real change in Navajo society from one in which everyone is equal, to one in which people are beginning to feel class differences.

"The only thing the delegates are doing is they are getting rich," Barlow said. "They are driving around these nice rides and that's not fair!"

Barlow was not concerned that delegates might be overworked.

"They need to get out there and sweat and work, just like I do," she said. "I want them to realize they have to get out there and work harder than they ever have before."

By reducing the council, perhaps that would entice younger people to run for office, she said. And with less people, then there may be less bureaucracy.

"We can't seem to get any paperwork going," Barlow said. "What is wrong with our tribe?"

At the end of the day, Betty White and her daughter Glinnabah White had finally made it to Kayenta. They first drove to Lukachukai, where Betty cast her ballot, then Glinnabah voted in Kayenta. Both voted in favor of the initiatives.

Betty White said she hoped the council would restructure itself.

"Why is it Lawrence Morgan is the head of everything?" she asked. "We didn't vote for him, he's a council delegate."

Glinnabah White said the council's continuous ads, aired over KTNN radio, were misleading and provided no factual information to back up the claims of voters opposed to Shirley's initiatives.

"The ads are just trying to save their jobs," White said. "There is no proof to the claims they are saying on the radio."

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