OHA clears Begaye to run for president
Russell Begaye at a 2014 Navajo Nation presidential candidates' forum. (Times file photo - Donovan Quintero.)
WINDOW ROCK
Russell Begaye is qualified to run for Navajo Nation president.
That was the decision released on Monday by the Navajo Nation Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Richie Nez, OHA’s hearing officer, agreed with plaintiff Myron McLaughlin that an individual running for president must have “unswerving loyalty” to the tribe, but disagreed with the complainant.
McLaughlin said he filed suit against Begaye, claiming that the presidential candidate violated his loyalty to the tribe by being a party to a lawsuit filed in federal court trying to overturn a decision by the Navajo Nation Supreme Court.
“The OHA finds, as a matter of law, that such action is not ‘disloyal’ such that it would disqualify a candidate running for president,” the ruling states.
McLaughlin now has 10 days to decide whether he wants to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
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