CTUIR Voters Retain 5 Incumbents, Elect 6 New Officials in General Election

MISSION – On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) voters retained five incumbents and elected six new members to the Board of Trustees (BOT) and General Council to lead the CTUIR for the next two years.

For the BOT, the CTUIR’s governing body, voters elected N. Kathryn Brigham to replace Gary I. Burke as chair. For vice chair, incumbent Aaron Ashley retained his seat. Also retaining his seat was Treasurer Raymond Huesties. However, incumbent Roberta J. Wilson was defeated by Monica Paradise for the secretary position.

Three incumbent BOT members at large retained their seats: Toby Patrick, Corinne Sams and Lisa Ganuelas. However, incumbent Steven Hart lost his seat to Sierra Quaempts.

Lindsey X. Watchman was elected the new General Council chairman, defeating incumbent Alan Crawford. Boots Pond defeated incumbent Michael Ray Johnson for the General Council vice chair, and Shawna Gavin won the General Council secretary race easily defeating write-in candidates.

As for General Council interpreter, incumbent Thomas Morning Owl will retain his seat as a holdover until a new interpreter is elected. The CTUIR Election Commission issued a statement on Nov. 4 saying because it did not receive any nominating petitions from candidates it subsequently did not catch the missing write-in line until after the absentee ballots were mailed. Therefore, no write-in line for the seat was on the ballot. According to the CTUIR Constitution, the Election Commission will establish a separate voting process for all General Council members to vote for the interpreter position.

Voters also passed a referendum question to allow alcohol sales at Arrowhead Travel Plaza by a 54.45% to 45.55% split. Alcohol sales will be limited to beer, wine, hard seltzer and hard cider and only for off-site consumption.

The elected officials take office Dec. 3 in a 9 a.m. inauguration ceremony at the Nixyáawii Governance Center. The public is invited to attend.

Following are the unofficial election results showing the number of votes received. A total of 819 votes were cast. The winners are identified in bold. The certified results will be completed in accordance with the CTUIR Election Code.

BOT Chair      

Kathryn Brigham      285

Gary I. Burke              267

Julie Taylor                  221

Lavon Herrera             20

Write-in                        11

BOT Vice Chair

Aaron Ashley              447

David Wolf Jr.                319

Write-in                         25

BOT Treasurer

Raymond Huesties        401

Andrea Hall                      207

Rosenda Shippentower      184

Write-in                            7

BOT Secretary

Monica Paradise             331

Roberta J. Wilson              305

Cedric Wildbill                   151

BOT Members At Large

Toby Patrick                   394

Corinne Sams                 372

Lisa Ganuelas                 302

Sierra Quaempts            290

Steven Hart                      289

Jill-Marie Gavin                 284

Malvin Jamison III             253

Crystal Pond                      208

Ellen Taylor                        189

Nizhonia Toledo                  153

Lloyd Commander               131

Derek Quaempts                 111

Write-in                              67

Kyle McGuire                       62

General Council Chair

Lindsey X. Watchman          358

Alan Crawford                         230

Kathleen Elliot                         211

Write-in                                   6

General Council Vice Chair

Boots Pond                        339

Michael R. Johnson               317

Donald Sampson                  148

Write-in                                2

General Council Secretary

Shawna Gavin                    685

Write-in                                36

Referendum Question

Yes                                      428

No                                        358

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.