Council Delegate Lomardo Aseret resigns from 25th Navajo Nation Council

By Donovan Quintero
Special to the Times

WINDOW ROCK – Council Delegate Lomardo Aseret who served the communities of Houck, Klagetoh, Nahat’á Dziil, Tsé Si Ani, and Wide Ruins, since January 2023, has announced his resignation from the 25th Navajo Nation Council, effective Sept. 30.

Aseret, according to a 25th Navajo Nation Council press release, is stepping down to retire from public service and to dedicate more time to his family and loved ones. In a statement regarding his decision, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve and acknowledged the support he received throughout his tenure.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve my communities, and I thank the people who supported and helped me along the way. I feel we set the foundation for many initiatives that are in progress. I also thank all of my Council colleagues, staff members, and many others who I had the privilege of working alongside. As I enter retirement, I look forward to spending more time with family,” said Aseret.

During his time on the Council, Aseret was a member of both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Navajo Hopi Land Commission, contributing to important financial and land-related matters.

Navajo Election Administration, or NEA, Interim Director Veronica Curley said because Aseret vacated his seat before in the first half of his tenure, NEA declared his seat vacated on Wednesday.

Candidates from one of the five chapters he represented could then begin filing for candidacy for the newly vacated seat as early as today.

“Our Fort Defiance office will declare the vacancy for the Lomardo Aseret position. Individuals will file their candidate, application, ethics, clearance and filing fee of $500. There’s going to be a fourteen-day filing period, and then the timeline kicks in, where there’s like grievances once our election office certifies, then there’s a two-day grievance on qualifications, if there’s no grievances, then at that time, a special election is held,” Curley explained the special election process. “Tentatively, we’re looking at December.”

Speaker Curley praised Aseret’s dedication, stating, “We are very appreciative of Delegate Aseret’s service to the Navajo people. His humble service and generosity serve as an example to us all. We pray for him and his family as they enjoy more time together.”

Lavonne Tsosie, the Nahat’á Dziil Chapter Commission Governance secretary and a former campaign manager for former Navajo Nation presidential candidate Justin Jones, on Tuesday said the commission was going to recommend her to take the position as the interim delegate.

“Yeah, we’re having a special meeting on Thursday (today), and the commissioners are going to recommend me to that position. Hopefully we can get this resolution passed,” said Tsosie.

Tsosie said one of the first task was to get all the chapters together.

“I need to know what their projects are. One of the big things is getting the chapter officials together, getting an update on all the projects, especially the ARPA (American Rescue Project Act) projects, because ours is just at a standstill,” said Tsosie, referring to Nahat’á Dziil Chapter. “So, I think it would just be really getting a list of all the projects and seeing what kind of legislations they need to have dropped for us.”

In June of last year, President Nygren signed CMY-41-23 approving the “Fiscal Recovery Funds Delegate Regional Project Plan” for Aseret’s delegate region in the amount of $6,265,173.00. Klagetoh Chapter received $1,277,774, Nahat’á Dziil Chapter received $1,522,400, Houck Chapter received $1,765,000, and Wide Ruins Chapter received $1,699,999, in fiscal recovery funds.

“I don’t really know where the other four chapters are at. I know for Nahat’á Dziil, we’re just waiting for the controller to deposit the money into our account, so we can start with the move forward with the five projects that we have. I know for one project we wanted to change it, which would mean going back to step one to change that project,” said Tsosie.

Following Aseret’s resignation, the Navajo Election Administration will declare a vacancy, allowing Speaker Curley to appoint an interim replacement, based on recommendations from the affected chapters, until a special election can be held.
Aseret is the second delegate to quit their post. In January, Seth Damon left to assume the position of deputy secretary of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department. Lester Yazzie, Damon’s former legislative district assistant, officially took his oath of office in February, as the interim Council delegate for District 6. Yazzie took the helm following the resignation of former Delegate Seth Damon.

Yazzie ran against four other candidates, David M. Emerson, Arlene Nakai Brown, Harrison Navajo Chone, Edison Chip Begay, and Armando Skeet on March 26. Yazzie won by a vote of 531 votes, followed by Harrison Navajo Chone who got 448 votes.

In expressing his gratitude for the opportunity, Yazzie, on Feb. 14 stated, “I’m proud to represent the District 6 chapters and to continue the vision of bettering the communities for all youth, elders, and veterans.”

Speaker Curley welcomed Yazzie’s appointment, highlighting his readiness to take on this significant role.

To date, only Tsosie has expressed in running for the vacated seat.

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