Shirley's possible entry a game-changer

The decision by President Joe Shirley Jr. to try to run for a third term could throw the presidential race into turmoil.

He's one of 12 men and women seeking the job. But if he is successful in defying the two-term-limit law, what was once a race that seemed to favor Lynda Lovejoy, the first woman to have made it past the primary, now looks more like a replay of Shirley vs. Lovejoy in 2006.

The big question is whether Shirley, whose current term will end in January 2011, is eligible to run, a question that may end up in the Navajo Nation Supreme Court.

"Under the law, he can't run," said Edison Wauneka, director of the Navajo Election Administration.

The current law, passed in 1990, limits the president to two consecutive terms in office. Shirley could sit out this race and then run again, but three consecutive terms are not allowed.

The only Navajo leader to serve three consecutive terms was Peter MacDonald Sr., who was chairman from 1971 to 1983. The term limit was enacted precisely to deter future leaders from consolidating power as he had.

Wauneka said that normally the only people with standing to challenge the qualifications of a candidate are other candidates. Since Shirley's candidacy directly flouts the term-limit law, Wauneka said his office could challenge it even if no other candidate steps forward to do so.

No one in the election office prevented Shirley from taking a candidate packet and on Wednesday he paid his $1,500 filing fee. If it is decided that he is not eligible to run, he won't get the fee back, Wauneka said.

"It says on the filing form that it is non-refundable," he said.

Election challenges go first to the Office of Hearings and Appeals. No matter how the hearing officer rules, it almost certainly would be appealed to the Supreme Court.

And this is where it's may get interesting because the Supreme Court has, on several occasions, thrown out laws that restrict a person's right to run for office.

The court voided the requirement that a candidate must reside on the Navajo Reservation for three years prior to running. The court also threw out the requirement that a person be familiar with the operation of the government.

If and when someone challenges the restriction that candidates must be fluent in both English and Navajo, Wauneka expects the court to also throw that out.

The Supreme Court has a pattern of ruling in favor of letting the people, not the council, decide who is qualified to lead them, he said.

Pat Sandoval, Shirley's chief of staff, agreed. He also said one of the main reasons Shirley decided to run again was the plea from more than a thousand of his supporters urging him to run again, saying no other candidate is pushing government reform as he has.

William Freeland, who is heading a Gallup-based group that wants to keep Shirley on as president, said, "We need him to finish the job."

Last fall there was talk of raising the term-limit issue via council resolution. Very few people expected the council would agree to any resolution that might allow Shirley to stick around, especially since his push for government reform involved a drastic cut in the council's membership.

In an interview at the time, Shirley said he had nothing to do with the movement and had no desire to run again. He was planning to go back to private life and become a consultant on social service issues, he said.

Shirley's candidacy isn't the only one that is being questioned.

Wauneka said he received questions from several people about the eligibility of Donald Benally, a convicted felon, to run for president.

In 1991 Benally was convicted in federal court of helping to incite the 1989 riot in Window Rock that left two MacDonald supporters dead and several other people, including two police officers, with injuries.

Navajo Nation law prohibits convicted felons from taking part in politics, but unlike U.S. law, it restores their political rights five years after the date of conviction. Benally's conviction is almost 20 years old, so Wauneka said he sees no reason why the Shiprock native, who currently serves as chapter vice president, can't run for president.

Wednesday was the deadline to file for president and the Navajo Nation Board of Education. It was also supposed to be the deadline to file for council delegate, but the council race is under a court restraining order and dates will have to be rescheduled once that case is resolved, Wauneka said. A hearing is set for Friday, May 7, on whether to extend the freeze.

The case is likely to come up at today's scheduled meeting of the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors.

If the court rules that NBOES does not have to reapportion council districts now, the election board could just extend the filing deadline a few days and the Aug. 3 primary would not be affected, Wauneka said.

However, if the court rules that the NBOES must implement new districts in time for the upcoming election, the primary itself could require rescheduling, he said.

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