Former Speaker LoRenzo Bates, retired tribal employee urge action on infrastructure, budget transparency
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Former Speaker LoRenzo Bates addresses the Budget and Finance Committee from the podium at the Niinahnízaad Chapter House on June 10, offering insight from his years in tribal leadership.
NENAHNEZAD, N.M.
Former Speaker LoRenzo Bates and rancher Ernest Diswood, a retired Navajo Nation employee, called for more transparency, infrastructure investment, and stronger governance coordination during a Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday at the Niinahnízaad Chapter.
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Former Speaker LoRenzo Bates addresses members of the Budget and Finance Committee at the Niinahnízaad Chapter House on June 10.
The session drew community members, chapter officials, and ranchers across the Shiprock area to discuss the Nation’s $227 million fiscal 2026 budget planning base. Public commenters raised concerns over stalled infrastructure, land use inefficiencies, and underutilized water settlements. Bates and Diswood spoke extensively and offered firsthand insight from their years of service and experience.
Bates, who served on the Navajo Nation Council for 16 years and served as speaker from 2015 to 2019, said fiscal decisions continue to face the same challenges today as they did during his tenure. He cautioned committee members to stay grounded in political and budgetary realities.
“One thing that you will be faced with is an increase – and can you afford that increase?” Bates asked. “We’ve been there, done that, and no matter how much it’s said that we only have this much money, we manage to exceed it in certain cases.”
To read the full article, please see the June 12, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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