Nygren’s first 100 days, The president prepares to govern post-pandemic

By David Smith | May 11, 2023 | News |

WINDOW ROCK
President Buu Nygren says he hit the ground running in the first 100 days of his administration.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
President Buu Nygren and Vice President Richelle Montoya sit with former Navajo Nation leaders, naat’áanii, from left to right, Peter MacDonald Sr., Joe Shirley Jr., the late Ben Shelly, and Russell Begaye, in December in Twin Arrows, Ariz.

He told his division directors he wanted a progress report on what they accomplished and the problems they faced after 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days.
His team also focused on what was not working or what needed to be fixed in the system in the first 100 days. Looking forward to the next quarter of the year, the Nygren Administration will know what needs to be addressed.

“It was a very exciting 100 days,” Nygren said in an interview at his office.

He wants to hold his staff accountable to get as much work done as possible to meet Nygren’s goal of creating a better Navajo government.

He compares the Navajo Nation to a house under construction, saying he wants to create a better foundation for the government to sit on. He doesn’t want to add on to the house that previous administrations have added to or do a quick-fix-job that will only fix problems in the short term.

He wants to build a strong foundation for his and future administrations to make something great for the Nation.

“People really want to see something really quick, but seeing something really quick isn’t the real fix,” Nygren said. “Real fix takes a little bit of time.”

Read the full story in the May 11 edition of the Navajo Times.