Morgan, Tom constituents vote for reduction, line-item veto

Voters in districts represented by two high-profile opponents of Tuesday's ballot questions delivered a stinging rebuke, voting by large margins for council reduction and expanded veto power for the president.

Voters in Pinedale and Iyanbito chapters approved council reduction by a vote of 383-310, and the line-item veto by a vote of 401-286, despite being represented by the tribe's most visible opponent of the proposals, Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan.

Willie Norton, 60, who voted for the reduction and line-item veto, said Morgan's been doing a "good job" for Iyanbito but not for Pinedale.

Norton said the new addition to the Pinedale Chapter House was the result of work by Chapter President Raphael Martin.

Elizabeth Gray, 39, said she voted against the reduction because her delegate, like many of the other delegates, doesn't have enough time to help all the community members that need help.

Gray did vote yes for the line-item veto.

"Hopefully, it'll change something," she said.

Samuel Sam, 50, who also voted for both measures, said he wanted to see change in the Navajo government that would truly involve the voices of the people.

But Sam, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, smiled and said he couldn't say anything "bad" about his uncle - Lawrence Morgan.

Voters in neighboring Smith Lake and Mariano Lake chapters also voted by wide margins for council reduction and the line-item veto. They are represented by Young Jeff Tom, the council's most prolific author of bills to allocate funds to the delegates' discretionary accounts.

Most of the bills that emptied the tribe's Undesignated, Unreserved Fund in the last few years also bore Tom's signature.

The vote for council reduction in Tom's district was 398-149 and the line-item veto - which would arm the president with a powerful tool to whittle Tom's spending measures - passed 391-160.

At Mariano Lake, Elisa Mark, 30, said she voted "yes" on the reduction and veto because nothing is getting done with 88 delegates.

But as for her own delegate, she said, "He's doing a good job."

The first chapter to call in its voting results for the long-awaited initiative election was Church Rock, the largest chapter in the Eastern Navajo Agency with 1,409 registered voters.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. and unofficial results of all 110 chapters were in by 10 p.m. Church Rock called in its results a little after 7 p.m.

Church Rock voters voted for council reduction by 523-108, a 5-1 margin. On the line-item veto, there were 534 "yes" votes and 170 "no" votes.

About half of Church Rock's registered voters braved the sunny but cold weather to cast a ballot, a little better than the reservation wide turnout.

Too many chiefs

A few miles to the east, Thoreau Chapter poll workers noted that their delegate, Edmund Yazzie, was among the first to cast a ballot, arriving as the polls opened.

Thoreau supported council reduction 300-124, and the line-item veto 309-114.

Another Thoreau native, Vice President Ben Shelly, voted at about 11:30 a.m., they added. Outside, a huge brightly painted sign near the entrance to the chapter house compound announced that Thoreau was his home.

Also outside the chapter house - and obeying the rule to stay more than 100 feet from the polls - was a small group proudly sporting the lime-green buttons declaring for a smaller council.

They were having a great time visiting and joking with each other as they sat on lawn chairs and handed out 3-by-5 inch cards, also lime green, asking voters to choose council reduction.

Earlier in the day, the activists had made fry bread and coffee for the people going in and out of the chapter house, but now the large frying pan and coffee pot were cold. There were still plenty of cookies.

Herman Yellowhorse, 61, who was standing with the group, had just finished voting. On his white Dallas Cowboys cap he'd written in blue marker, "Vote Yes 24."

"I want everything reduced," Yellowhorse declared with a smile. "Our grandmas and grandpas said that one of these days we would make too many chiefs and something would go wrong."

Udall Gibson Jr., 33, who was about to drive off in his pickup after voting, rolled down his window and said he voted "yes" on both questions.

"I think (the council) should use the discretionary money in different areas, especially law enforcement," Gibson said. "Call the cops now and they won't show up until tomorrow. The Navajo Nation Council has a lot of say in a lot of decisions and the people can't say yes or no."

Church Rock voters voiced similar feelings.

"Our chapter is one of the largest chapters but we don't get anything done for the community," said Delores Delgarito, pointing at the muddy parking lot outside the chapter house.

Church Rock has almost one and a half times the number of registered voters as the agency seat, Crownpoint. But compared to Thoreau, Church Rock's chapter house was small and worn-out, its offices cramped and its kitchen outdated.

Lena Hallum, Delgarito's sister, said Church Rock's two council delegates, Charles Damon II and Ernest Yazzie Jr., don't even live in the chapter. Damon lives in Fort Defiance and Yazzie lives in Sanders, Ariz., she said.

The Navajo Times left messages for Damon and Yazzie at the council's office but they had not responded as of press time Wednesday.

Hallum, who said she was not allowed to vote in Tuesday's election because her name wasn't on the voter rolls, said President Joe Shirley Jr. also should save the tribe some money by reducing his entourage of staff and security people.

Darrell Lee, 25, who also voted at Church Rock and favored council reduction and the line-item veto, said, "We need change!"

There are too many people living without basic needs, such as plumbing and electricity, he said.

"Leaders are suppose to work to help the people," he sad, 'not themselves."

At Crownpoint, veterinarian Joe Bahe did not hesitate to say that he voted yes for the reduction and veto.

"The veto will create checks and balances, especially on the council," Bahe said. "The only constant thing in life is change. If something is bad, fix it. This has gone on long enough."

He said his reference to "bad" was the council's use of their discretionary funds.

"If this (reduction) doesn't work out, we can change it again," Bahe noted.

Crownpoint voter Willie Freeland, 68, said he voted in favor of the reduction and line-item veto because he believes it will generate more communication between the three branches and therefore more direct services for the people.

"Right now all the power's at the council and it shouldn't be that way," Freeland said.

Crownpoint approved council reduction 276-120 and the line-item veto 251-141.

Voting numbers cited above are unofficial results released by the Navajo Election Administration.

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