Whither reform? Shirley appeal stirs passions

President Joe Shirley Jr. made good on his promise to appeal the rejection of two voter initiatives by the Navajo Election Administration, which ruled Nov. 12 that neither proposal had enough valid signatures to get on the ballot.

But his appeal has been stalled by the withdrawal of hearing officer John Chapela, who recused himself at the request of Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, Shirley's opponent in the case.

Both of Shirley's "government reform initiatives" would trim the power of the Navajo Nation Council, over which Morgan presides.

One question asks voters to endorse a reduction of the council from 88 to 24 seats, and the other would give the tribal president line-item veto power over council spending measures.

During a Dec. 22 hearing on Shirley's appeal, Chapela recused himself at the request of Chief Legislative Counsel Frank Seanez, who claimed that Chapela's objectivity was in question because he'd been heard commenting in favor of the council reduction.

Chief Hearing Officer Marcella King-Ben must now appoint a new hearing officer. She could do it herself, except that her objectivity has been challenged by Shirley's side on grounds that she's involved with a member of the council - a claim both she and the gentleman in question deny.

Seanez represents the Navajo Election Administration, which determined that Shirley was 2,257 signatures short of the legally required number of 16,530 valid signatures to trigger a special election on his initiative to reduce the council.

Shirley lacked 2,908 signatures to get his line-item veto proposal before voters.

Under Navajo election law, he had to collect the signatures of 15 percent of registered Navajo Nation voters. The election office reports that there are 110,202 registered voters.

Elections director Edison Wauneka, in his Nov. 12 letter to Shirley, stated, "The primary reasons why some of the signatures were determined invalid and not counted were lack of registration and individuals signing the petition more than once."

A day after the election office's decision, attorney Albert Hale filed an appeal on Shirley's behalf.

Chapela said on Dec. 30 that Seanez asked him to recuse himself because he held strong opinions on the substance of Shirley's proposals, which Seanez argued prevented Chapela from making an unbiased decision. Chapela had already issued one ruling in the case, rejecting Morgan's effort to block the initiative petitions.

In that decision, which Chapela delayed releasing for months while Shirley and Morgan tried to hammer out a compromise, he said Morgan's complaint left out the election administration, a key party to the dispute, and therefore was invalid.

"I said that in spite of my viewpoints, I could make an unbiased decision based on information and the law and in the interest of upholding laws and in the best interest of Navajo people," Chapela noted.

But he said since Seanez continued to "strongly" object, he removed himself.

Hale, commented, "Everybody has taken a position on this issue and so it's going to be hard to find someone who has not. Maybe they can find someone on the outside."

Hale said he called for King-Ben to step aside at an earlier stage in the process because of an alleged relationship between her and Council Delegate George Arthur (Nenahnezad/San Juan/ T'iistsoh Sikaad).

But King, on Dec. 31, vehemently denied Hale's claim that she was disqualified and, while acknowledging Arthur as a friend, said they are not in a relationship.

"I don't appreciate the womanizer Hale making comments like that," she said, referring to Hale's much-publicized romance with an aide while he was married and was serving as Navajo Nation president. "The Navajo Times shouldn't be listening to Hale, who was removed from office and who has had relationships with many women."

"She's a good friend," Arthur said, adding, "It has nothing to do with me. If Albert Hale is saying that, he's crazy."

King-Ben noted that when Hale telephoned her to notify her that he was filing a motion to disqualify her from hearing Morgan's original complaint, she told him not to worry about it because she had recused herself and appointed Chapela as the hearing officer.

King-Ben said there were several reasons she removed herself and among them was that she had worked for the Office of Legislative Counsel and when she did, Steve Boos was her boss.     Boos, now in private practice, represented Morgan in his complaint against Shirley's initiatives.

King-Ben said she also recused herself because she had worked briefly as a staff assistant to Shirley and one of her assignments was the reduction of the council, which involved consultations with election office director Wauneka.

Another reason for removing herself was because she was too busy hearing other cases that had merit, unlike the "frivolous" ones filed by the speaker and the president, she said.

The Office of Hearings and Appeals is charged with hearing election complaints - including 45 from the most recent election, grazing and land disputes, child support cases, personnel grievances, tax appeals and welfare assistance complaints, she noted.

King-Ben said that for the past two years, Shirley has cut the OHA budget, and that there is only one hearing officer - her - for the Window Rock District.

"We need leaders to focus on issues, instead of downgrading each other," she noted. "The Navajo Times should also focus on positive stories instead of trash but then again that's where the newspaper makes its money."

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