Hearing held on Windy Boy challenge to election

A hearing for Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy’s contest against the results of the Chippewa Cree Business Committee elections was heard in tribal courts Tuesday.

Windy Boy was represented by his attorney Teresa Harris of Box Elder, and representing the election committee were election committee chair Cecilia Parker and the election committee’s attorney, Lynn Fagen.

Chief Judge Melody Whitford will issue an order once she has made a decision.

The hearing was to address Windy Boy’s complaint that the elections had been held incorrectly because Father Pete Guthneck, an honorary member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, voted in the election. Tribal members must meet a certain blood quantum to be able to vote in the elections and Guthneck has no Chippewa Cree blood, Windy Boy said.

Only a candidate who lost the election can contest the results. Windy Boy lost by 111 votes.

The hearing was open to the public because, Olson said, the case is of strong interest to the public.

A hearing was also held on Jody LaMere’s request that she be sworn in as a tribal council member. She was one of four winners in the Nov. 4 election, but her swearing-in was put on hold because of the court ruling

Fagen and Parker were less than five minutes late for the meeting that was slated to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and as Olson was about the close the hearing, they came in.

Fagen was asked to explain why they were late, to which she replied that they had just come from another meeting and the clock she was going by told her she was early.

Harris requested to the judge that the case be dismissed because of her opponents’ tardiness, to which Fagen responded by saying it was a mistake and emphasizing the importance of the case.

Harris’ request was denied.

She then requested that the meeting be closed, and Olson denied that as well, stating the hearing had already been opened to the public because the public had a large stake in the outcome.

Harris’ and Windy Boy’s argument during the hearing was not that the elections had been skewed by one vote, but that the entire election had been tainted because proper procedure had not been followed.

“He’s not asking that one vote be taken away,” Harris said. “ … The election in and of itself is illegal.”

Fagen argued that though a mistake had been made by letting Guthneck vote, the one vote would not make a difference in the results. She added that a precedence had been set in a case that elected chair of the Chippewa Cree Business Committee had against the election committee in which 16 votes had been contested. Since the 16 votes would not have changed the results of the election, the case was thrown out.

Thus, a violation of the election ordinance alone is not enough to render the entire election invalid.

Fagen and Parker said that the list of names of enrolled tribal members is not always up to date and in the heat of the election, Guthneck’s name was written on the list to be addressed after the elections.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s tainted 1 percent or if it’s tainted 99 percent,” Harris said. “If it’s tainted, it’s tainted.”

If she rules in favor of Windy Boy, the results of the election will be invalidated. If she rules in favor of the election board, the newly elected members of the business committee will be allowed to be sworn in and replace lame duck members, except for Harlan Gopher Baker, who was re-elected to his position.

However, if the judge rules in favor of the election board, Windy Boy has stated that he will go to the Tribal Appeals Court to try and have the decision overturned.

Correction: An earlier edition of this story incorrectly listed the name of the judge hearing the case. It is Melody Whitford.