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Conversation between Darryl Olson and Election Chairman about Protest Investigation
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Webmaster Note: This conversation is posted at the Request of Tribal Member Darryl Olson
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark A. Landrie
To: Darryl Olson
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 10:00 PM
Subject: ** SPAM? ** RESULTS OF YOUR PROTEST
DARRYL,
We have already sent a copy of our findings to all of the current Council members.
MARK
8 December 2004
To: Darryl Olson
From: 2004 Election Committee
Copy to: Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana Tribal Members
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana Tribal Council
File copy to: Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana Tribal Office
Subj: ELECTIONS CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY PROTEST AGAINST JAMES PARKER SHIELD
Mr. Olson,
We the Elections Committee (EC) have reviewed your protest with great regard for your rights and the rights of Mr. James Parker Shield while taking into consideration the rights of all tribal members. The EC consisting of 8 members (7 are actively participating while 1 has not been heard from and has not made contact for some time). We were able to make contact in regards to this matter with 7 of the committee members and the following brief is the out come of our review of your protest.
Elections Committee Members who provided input and insight as well as cast their vote in this matter were: Mark A. Landrie- Elections Committee Chairperson & Carol Hofeldt - Elections Committee Secretary/Treasure. On the phone were Donovan Emerson, Mel Swann, Pearl Chilton and later on Sheila Stillian and Jose Landrie all are Elections Committee Members.
The EC called Mr. Shields into the Little Shell Tribal Office on December 7, 2004 @ about 9:30AM. Mr. Shields was very cooperative and volunteered to spend as much time talking with the committee members (either in person or over the phone) as we needed. Total time spent was about 5 hours, 2 hours of which were in direct questions to Mr. Shields and the rest in committee review.
The following is brief information from your protest letter (all the paper work that you provided to the EC is in this letter)
1. Violation 1 - You claim that Mr. Shields is a convicted felon and therefore by the By-Laws of our Constitution and rules of the Election cannot be a Candidate. You site Article I, Section V amended on January 20, 1999 that reads "If a council member shall die, resign, or is not able to represent the best interest of the Tribe, is found guilty of a felony or misdemeanor involving dishonesty in any Indian, State or Federal Court, the Executive Committee shall declare the position vacant and shall call a special election to fill the vacancy". The part of this article you refer to is "is found guilty of a felony"
2. Violation 2 - You claim that Mr. Shields admitted to being a felon and therefore cannot by the By-Laws of our Constitution and rules of the Election be a Candidate. You site Article I, Section V amended on January 20, 1999 that reads "If a council member shall die, resign, or is not able to represent the best interest of the Tribe, is found guilty of a felony or misdemeanor involving dishonesty in any Indian, State or Federal Court, the Executive Committee shall declare the position vacant and shall call a special election to fill the vacancy". The part of this article you refer to is "is found guilty of a felony"
3. Violation 3 - You claim that Mr. Shields has clearly demonstrated that he cannot represent the best interest of the Tribe. You site Article I, Section V amended on January 20, 1999 that reads "If a council member shall die, resign, or is not able to represent the best interest of the Tribe, is found guilty of a felony or misdemeanor involving dishonesty in any Indian, State or Federal Court, the Executive Committee shall declare the position vacant and shall call a special election to fill the vacancy". The part of this article you refer to is "is not able to represent the best interest of the Tribe"
You are requesting that the EC to remove Mr. Shields as a candidate.
The following is the findings of the EC and is by the "Little Shell Constitution and By-Laws dated September 10, 1977 including the Amendments of 1998", "Elections Rules" and "Nominee Regulations" for Elections 2004.
Violation 1 - We the Elections Committee have done a background check on the following names used by Mr. Shields. James Parker Shields and James Strandberg. Let us settle this issue once and for all, both names came back from the Law Enforcement Services Division, Department of Justice, State of Montana, Helena, Montana as CLEAR of any sort of felony or misdemeanor as an adult. You have not provided any documentation to prove this violation therefore you have no grounds for your protest on this issue. Unless you can provide court documents that state otherwise.
Violation 2 - We the Elections committee has reviewed the evidence you provided (as follows in the rest of this document (scanned images)). While you make a very convincing case, all of which is circumstance evidence and subject to each persons interpretation and not factual to meet the article you site for this issue. Therefore you have no grounds for your protest. While Mr. Shields made a comment in an interview with a newspaper it does not lend creditability to your protest since you have not provided court documents that support your claim.
Violation 3 - We the Elections Committee having reviewed all of the papers you provided in regards to this violation have not found the evidence you claim. While it is clear there was much discussion as to his ability to provide the tribal members with the best job he could do. You have not provided any evidence that would meet the criteria you site. Since it is clear that some decisions might have been in question by other Council members and Tribal members it is also clear that he was elected by due process of Constitution and by the people each time he ran for office. This clearly demonstrates the will of the people during the times you are calling into question.
Summary of the Elections Committee decision on this protest:
As you may or may not agree with our findings you will keep in mind that you may not protest or appeal this matter any further according to rule 8 of the Elections Rules. If you persist in this matter you yourself may be in violation of the rules and be removed as a candidate. The reason for this rule is to keep the process of this election moving forward and not be bogged down by continued protests over the same issues. However if you can provide court documents that support your claim that Mr. Shields is a convicted felon as an adult, we the Elections Committee will review this protest. You will have until December 11, 2004 to provide such paperwork. If Mr. Shields is elected into office and as of January 15, 2005 you will have all means provided to you by the By-Laws of the Little Shell Tribe Constitution to make your opinion known and bring it before the Council. As the minutes of one of the Council meetings you provided to the Elections Committee clearly affirms that the Elections Committee has the responsibility to uphold the By-Laws as they relate to the elections and elections process. It is clear that anybody could and will interpret the papers you provided and the decision of the Elections Committee each in their own way. Regardless of this it is the people who have the final say by who is elected and who isn't. It is not the job of the Elections Committee to decide for the people who is creditable or not, but rather, do they meet the requirements as outlined in the By-Laws of our Constitution to be a Nominee and a Candidate. It is then the responsibility of the Tribal Members to decide if that candidate is who they want to represent them on the Council. The Council then has the duty to enforce the By-Laws on each other for the Tribal Members or be voted out of Office the next election or by due process of the Constitution By-Laws.
Sincerely
Elections Committee
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By the LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster: Toni Jo Atchison, Little Shell Tobacco Abuse Prevention Specialist Announces Tribal Newsletter is FREE to Tribal Members
Toni Jo Atchison, Little Shell Tribal Tobacco Abuse Prevention Specialist has announced that the Tribal newsletter is FREE to all Enrolled Tribal Members. Previously, a subscription of $10 was required for the newsletter and was published quartely. The subscription cost covered monies that funded the creation, mailing of the newsletter, along with helping with office expenses. Now, with funding provided in part under a contract with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program, and the Little Shell Tobacco Abuse Prevention Program, the Newsletter will be published 12 months a year. To place your name on the List for the newsletter (if you do not currently receive it), contact Toni Jo at the main office or write a letter requesting your name to be placed on it. Tribal and Non-Tribal members are still welcome and are encourgaged to send donations to the Office to help with tribal expenses.
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