Election 2010

Their answers to moderators' questions may have been a bit vague - understandable since responses were limited to three minutes - but there was no shortage of confidence at Monday night's forum for Navajo Nation presidential candidates.

"I'm (insert name here) and I'm the next Navajo Nation president," was the common refrain during closing remarks.

In less than two weeks, of course, most of them will be proven wrong as two candidates will emerge from the field of 12 after the Aug. 3 primary.

Eleven of the 12 candidates braved the drive to Piñon, complicated by a long detour through Whippoorwill to avoid construction on Navajo Route 4. Only Shiprock Fair Board member Jerry Todacheenie was a no-show. No contact information for Todacheenie could be found in the Navajo Nation phone book or on the Internet.

About 300 people turned out to watch the event.

The forum, hosted by KTNN radio personalities Raymond Tsosie and Rhianon Kurly, lasted for nearly three hours and featured four rounds of prepared questions and closing remarks. Each question and the candidate to receive it were chosen at random, with a few questions posed to multiple candidates. Some questions had been culled from audience members.

Among the candidates who got the same question, few differences emerged. Everyone was for better services for veterans, youth and the elderly and everyone espoused more transparency in government.

The one sharp contrast of the evening was between Rex Lee Jim, council delegate for Rock Point, and Shiprock Chapter Vice President Donald Benally when the two were asked their feelings on Arizona's new law mandating police to question individuals they suspect of being illegal aliens.

Jim said he had spent his life fighting for human rights, and believes Navajos should speak out against the law.

Benally said he'd like to see more illegal immigrants caught because they soak up social services that should go to Americans, but there should be some way Native Americans can be exempted from being profiled as possible undocumented Mexicans.

Former Kayenta Township Manager Daniel Peaches carefully avoided giving his own take on the new law, but said Navajos should be "given the facts" so they can make an informed decision rather than reacting emotionally.

When asked what she would do for veterans and senior citizens, former Navajo Nation Washington Office head Sharon Clahchischilliage said that those were "two populations I'm very concerned about," being as she's a member of both.

Clahchischilliage said the first thing she would do is to place better controls on the funds allocated to the two groups, especially in light of the Navajo Nation auditor general's recent findings of misused veterans' monies.

"We need to make sure no one raids it, no one takes away from the elderly or veterans," she said to a burst of loud applause. "That has to happen."

Navajo Nation Community Development Director Arbin Mitchell agreed. Mitchell said the veterans' funds seem to be clogged at the chapter level, and he would like to explore ways to get them to the veterans without going through the chapter.

On the topic of open records, which has been problematic in the current administration, New Mexico State Sen. Linda Lovejoy stated unequivocally, "I fully support transparency."

She chided the Navajo Nation Council for calling executive sessions without stating the reason for the session.

In response to the same question, Mariano Lake Chapter President Anthony Begay and Mitchell both stood on their records, with each saying full financial disclosure for his entity is available via the Internet.

This reporter could not find any financial data on the Mariano Lake Chapter Web site. The Division of Community Development does have a full range of budget and salary data on its site. However it is hidden under the rather obscure link "Wind system" ("Wind" is the name of the Navajo Nation's data access system).

Navajo Nation Deputy Attorney General D. Harrison Tsosie mentioned that the tribe already has sunshine laws, but there are few consequences for disobeying them.

Tsosie, appropriately enough, also fielded a question on how the tribe could implement a Constitution.

"The people should discuss it throughout the Navajo Nation, to be informed," he said. "Then we should put it on the ballot. That's how we should present it."

Asked what kind of economic development the tribe should be encouraging, Navajo Generating Station employee Dale Tsosie said it should focus on creating technical jobs.

"Now our children are going to schools off the Navajo Nation," he said, "but we can't employ them when they come back.

"They can't all be drivers or menial jobs," he said. "We need technical jobs in the things they studied."

Benally and Ojo Encino Chapter Vice President George Herrera, a write-in candidate, both supported background checks and drug testing for Navajo Nation employees, while Mitchell came out in favor of unionizing them.

Asked about the stray dog problem on the reservation, Vice President Ben Shelly said the tribe should allocate more funding to spay/neuter programs and re-examine its animal control laws.

Confronted with a question on whether the nation's gaming revenue should be divided on a per capita bases rather than going into tribal coffers, Shelly replied that would take an entire renegotiation of the tribe's gaming compact with state and federal entities, and he would not be in favor of it.

Clahchischilliage liked the idea of tapping American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds to repair Window Rock's embarrassingly potholed streets, and Lovejoy opined that the tribe should think about subsidizing community day care centers so parents of young children could work.

Asked about the growing problem of teen suicide, Herrera advocated a "team approach."

"People who are knowledgeable in that field and parents need to get together," he said. "We're really, really lagging behind."

Shelly added that he would launch a conference on the subject to bring youth and adults together.

Begay said that, if elected, he would try to implement better trash collection services on the Navajo Nation and also a reservation-wide recycling program. He also feels more resources need to go into expanding the tribe's land base.

The chapter official also promised that, if elected, he would talk to the media personally instead of going through a spokesman, as current President Joe Shirley Jr. generally does.

Asked how they would draw the youth into the political process, Jim suggested summer classes on the political process and decision-making to prepare Navajo youth for leadership roles. Benally felt the goal could be better accomplished with a youth council.

Both Clahchischilliage and Jim said the tribe needs to streamline its business site leasing process, with Jim suggesting the tribal government waive some of its requirements in cases where the process seems to be dragging on and on.

Asked about the council's 2009 raid on the Personnel Lapse Fund, resulting in many job vacancies going unfilled, Mitchell replied that it may not be a totally bad thing. Unfilled jobs have given tribal departments the incentive to rearrange their staff and save some money, he said.

Dale Tsosie would like to offer Navajo artisans some kind of protection so their work can't be copied and pawned off as the real thing. He suggested a patent office for jewelry and rug designs, or formulating some sort of Navajo trademark stamp that could be used to mark authentic Navajo items.

Shelly pledged to fight racism in the border towns by networking with the city councils and other entities. Peaches thought cultural sensitivity training for both police officers and shopkeepers might be the ticket.

Both Benally and Peaches said the Navajo Nation should make a priority of protecting its water rights, with Peaches noting the tribe has a lot of homework to do first.

"The U.S. Supreme Court says you have to put that water to beneficial use," he said. "In order to get your water rights, you have to quantify the water. We haven't done that."

Dale Tsosie believes the tribe needs to look into green energy alternatives like solar and wind to bring power to remote areas on the reservation.

Asked which two Navajo Nation departments are most in need of overhaul, Clahchischilliage didn't hesitate.

"Number one is the department that takes care of our money," she said. "We have a system that is archaic. We have a system that is not friendly to receiving and giving out money. So I would start with the department of finance."

Secondly, she would take a look at the Division of Public Safety.

"Our officers are overworked, the department is underbudgeted, and we have communities they can't respond to," she said. "The safety of our people is in question."

What should the president's role be as the council is reduced from 88 to 24 members? That was a question posed to Benally.

He replied that both the council and the president need to remember that it's the people's government, not the council's or the president's.

Dale Tsosie got perhaps the most frivolous question, "What do you think of the local music scene?" including the successful young heavy metal bands.

"More power to them!" he exclaimed, but added that parents should make sure to teach their children the difference between life and art so children won't be so strongly affected by negative messages in some of the music.

After the forum, some voters said they were frustrated at the short response time, which didn't allow the candidates to go into depth.

"I would have preferred fewer questions and longer answers," one woman said.

Several observers thought Clahchischilliage had the best grasp of the issues, but were disappointed at her lack of fluency in the Navajo language. While other candidates answered in Navajo or a mixture of Navajo and English, Clahchischilliage never even attempted Navajo.

"It's a real handicap," said Ed Silversmith, an electrician for Peabody Western Coal Co. "If she goes around to the chapters like she says, the elders are not going to like to see a Navajo woman speaking to them in English."

Silversmith said he had more research to do, but was leaning toward Dale Tsosie, who struck him as "a grassroots kind of guy."

Entertainer Rex Redhair of Black Mesa, better known as "The Navajo Elvis," said he was not listening to the candidates' answers so much as looking for a certain quality.

"There's something that true leaders have," he said. "You can see it in their mannerisms and their body language."

Based on that, he was leaning toward Lovejoy or Jim.

"We'll see if one of them does something stupid in the next week," he said. "That will make my choice for me."

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