Personal issues, impressions influence northern voters

Dozens of people, mostly voters, walked the alleyway created by candidate's booths in front of the Shiprock Chapter House and more than 110 cars packed the parking lot, spilling out to line the street.

Most of the people outside the chapter house were voters and according to some of them, the issues in this election year ranged from the need for basic services like water and electricity for homes, to larger ones such as developing a Navajo constitution.

"(Rex Lee Jim) talked a lot about a constitution. The tribe needs one," said Alicia Manuelito, 32, of Shiprock.

She said she voted for Jim, who proposed that he would help develop a Navajo constitution if he was elected president of the Navajo Nation.

Jim finished fourth in Tuesday's primary.

Aside from a constitution, Manuelito said she would like to hear what candidates propose to about environmental problems such as overgrazing, the consequences of which are being felt all over the reservation this week as monsoon rains cause widespread flooding.

"There's nobody really talking about those things," she said.

Nora M. Harvey, 50, of Shiprock, she said she chose her candidate based on first impressions.

Harvey voted for Russell Lewis in the Shiprock council race, saying he had a good greeting and greeted her children.

"I spoke with him before and he understood (the life) of a single mother," she said, adding that she cares for six children.

She also relied on her motherly instincts to cast her vote for president, choosing Linda Lovejoy "because as a woman and a mother, we know what our children want."

Code talker David Patterson, 87, of Shiprock, said the need for basic services is one of the issues he considered in choosing a candidate.

He said presidential candidates promise people they will work on issues, but promises he heard four years ago seem to have been forgotten.

"There's no lights, no running water, and this four years it's the same again," Patterson said.

He added that Navajo elderly and veterans need more assistance, and more job creation is needed too.

"It's not good," he said about the reservation job market. "I hope the next president does something about it."

Martin Duncan, president of the San Juan River Dineh Water Users Inc., said he hopes his vote will count towards a working relationship with local leaders.

He said he voted for Russell Begay, who finished second in the Shiprock council delegate race, because Begay promised to work with him to create better water access for farmers in the Shiprock area.

"We could all work together and improve the whole farming area," Duncan said.

He envisions Shiprock becoming a vibrant farming community, but knows the water system improvements he wants would take time to build.

"This is my vision, but at my age, I don't think I'll ever see this because right now there are a lot of vacant farms," said Duncan, 65.

The mood in Nenahnezad wasn't as festive as that of Shiprock. Voters trickled in and out of the chapter house during the early afternoon.

Bev Nez, 50, was one of those voters. She said she voted for Heather Anderson, who finished third in the council delegate race for Nenahnezad and the five other chapters in its district.

"She's an attorney and she knows what she was talking about. Maybe she can change that way things are run," Nez said.

Nez voted for Lovejoy, citing as important issues the limited job market, housing, roads and education.

However, she, like Patterson, remained skeptical of campaign promises.

"I hope they do what they say they're going to do instead of hogging all the money," Nez said.

At Upper Fruitland Chapter the mood was more business-like as many voters cast their ballots and departed in haste, as if grabbing a quick break from their jobs in the Farmington area.

Gary Tinhorn, 69, was one of the few who walked casually into and out of the chapter house.

He voted for Lovejoy.

"She spoke OK. I guess she's mainly concerned about the people," he said, adding that he liked her knowledge of veterans' issues.

Linda Garcia, 51, also voted for Lovejoy. Her other vote went to incumbent LoRenzo Bates for the council delegate.

"I think they can do a real good job of sustainment for the community. Not only the (local) community but for the Navajo community as well," she said.

T'iistsoh Sikaad voters sat inside their vehicles and lined up along the road near the chapter house.

Shawn Begay, 38, stood outside a pickup truck.

"Girl power," she said, explaining her vote for Anderson and Lovejoy.

Begay said one of her primary issues is cultural and language preservation. She voted for Lovejoy because of Lovejoy's experience.

"She's got the most experience of all the presidential candidates," she said.

Her sister, Julia Begay, 31, also of T'iistsoh Sikaad, voted the same way as her sister, but said she did so because "we need change. I think we've had men in there for a while. Let's see how the women do," she said.

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