Special session expected for leave resolution

Reservation politics intensified this week, during the Navajo Nation Council's fall session, resulting in delegates considering a bill that would place both President Joe Shirley Jr. and Vice President Ben Shelly on administrative leave.

The council directed staff to draft the bill after spending most of Monday behind closed doors discussing audits of the OnSat and BCDS debacles, to which the tribe reportedly lost millions.

The council's bill also comes just as Shirley's government reform initiative - including a proposal to reduce the council from 88 to 24 members - nears its final stages.

The Navajo Election Administration's Dec. 15 date to hold the election on the initiatives is quickly approaching.

However, delegates are quick to say their recent actions have little, if nothing, to do with Shirley's initiatives.

"There are no personal grudges in this," said Raymond Joe (Blue Gap/Whippoorwill), who is sponsoring the bill. "People think this is because of the initiatives: No. We don't make judgments in people."

The bill came after three separate reports from outside law firms that reportedly connect Shirley and his administration to both the OnSat and BCDS business dealings, leading to disastrous results.

A 2007 tribal audit revealed the tribe over-paid OnSat by more than $600,000. A year later, the BCDS CEO, Hak Ghun, fled the region after findings that he racked up $4 million in debt.

The council heard the results of the reports in executive session on Monday. The chamber doors were closed to the public for nearly six hours with an armed Navajo Nation Police officer guarding the entrance.

The audits were conducted by outside law firms hired by the council with $500,000 from the tribe's coffers. Results of the reports have remained under wraps.

Following the marathon closed-door session, the council directed the matter referred to the tribe's Office of Ethics and Rules. The council also directed its staff to draft the bill asking to place Shirley and Shelly on leave.

The bill, as sponsored by Joe, would send the reports and findings to the attorney general. From there, the AG, depending on his findings, could move on the matter, either pursuing the case and hiring a special attorney or dismissing the matter.

The bill refers to Shirley's part in welcoming OnSat, a Utah-based telecommunications firm, to the reservation in 2001. However, Shirley took office in 2002. Hardeen said President Kelsey Begaye initiated the contract with OnSat during his term.

The bill also links the president to the BCDS Manufacturing Inc., a Shiprock-based metal fabrications plant, because Shirley signed the $2.2 million loan the tribe granted the company in 2006.

Shirley's signature was the last of a tribal process in which at least two council subcommittees first reviewed and approved the deal.

Joe said placing the president and vice president on leave during this preliminary stage is a matter of protocol.

"When allegations are made against such a high ranking elected official, we have to investigate," Joe said. "Even if they are just allegations, this has become national news."

When and if the president and vice president would be reinstated would be up to the attorney general, Joe said.

"It would be entirely up to him," he said. "If we didn't do this, then people would ask why not. We have to make sure the president is clear."

The bill would also inexplicably place Vice President Shelly on leave, despite that he was not a member of the executive branch at the time that either deal was reached. (At the time, Shelly was chair of the council's Budget and Finance Committee, which approved the BCDS loan.)

Joe said, if passed, the attorney general could decide whether or not to include Shelly in the matter.

Joe attempted to add the bill to the council's agenda as an emergency legislation on Tuesday, however, the legislature could not muster the required 59 "yes" votes to add the bill to its agenda.

The council has yet to publicly release details of the reports. The bill asking to place Shirley on leave mentions the reports but gives no details.

The reports "provide reasonable grounds that certain Navajo Nation officials and employees have seriously breached their fiduciary trust to the Navajo people," the bill states.

Although Shirley released no statement on the issue, his spokesman George Hardeen said neither Shirley nor his staff had a chance to review the reports. They also have not had a chance to respond to the allegations listed therein.

Shirley was not present for the council's session, but his staff maintained a constant presence.

The council voted 45-18 to add Joe's bill to the council agenda. Despite having a majority support, the council's rules dictate that to add a bill to the agenda mid-session requires a supermajority approval, 59 "yes" votes.

Leonard Tsosie (Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse Lake) voted against adding the bill to the agenda because he said he could not see the evidence that directly linked the president to any misdeeds, he said.

"It's all based on very weak evidence," said the attorney licensed with the Navajo Nation Bar Association.

Tsosie did refer to "serious violations," in the report, but said there is no obvious connection to the president's office.

"There is no direct link," Tsosie said. "It's all circumstantial."

Instead, he'd rather the tribe follow its laws and file any concerns with the Ethics and Rules Office.

Tsosie also questioned the reports, which were prepared and presented by outside law firms that have had previous contracts with the council.

"I don't think they would give a report supporting the president if it meant they might lose future contracts (with the council)," Tsosie said. "If we're going to do this, we should have the most unimpeachable group of lawyers, somebody who doesn't work with the nation."

Still, Joe said the council is planning a single-day special session for Oct. 26, in which his bill is expected to come up again.

Also during its fall session, the Navajo Nation Council voted down a bill that would have extended its term to 2012. The bill, which had an ultimate goal of aligning the reservation's general and chapter elections so they occur at the same time every four years, had a side effect of extending the term limits of the delegates currently in office by two years.

Delegates were resoundingly against the bill, calling it "self-serving."

"I would have a hard time going back to my chapter and telling the people that I voted to extend my term." Tsosie said.

"I could not support a legislation that is self-gaining and self-supporting," said Amos Johnson (Black Mesa/Rough Rock/Forest Lake). "We are in enough hot water as it is."

The bill failed 17 in favor, 53 against.

The council passed the To'Nanees'Dizi Local Government tax Code, allowing the matter to move forward in a referendum vote.

The council also voted against the Commercial Tobacco-Free Act at the request of its sponsors who asked for more time to increase support of the measure.

The Navajo Nation Council's fall session is expected to continue through the week.

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