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By Rose Hooper
Cherokee Tribal Council voted last week not to pursue impeachment
of Principal Chief Leon Jones, although they will continue proceedings
against former tribal Chairman Bob Blankenship.
Meanwhile, tribal elections officials ruled Blankenship, who was
re-elected to his Yellowhill seat during the Sept. 4 elections,
is ineligible for office in light of the impeachment investigation.
Adding more fuel to an already-heated election fire, Carroll "Pee
Wee" Crowe, defeated for chief by Michell Hicks, has protested
the election otucome and says he should be chief.
The controversy stems from absentee voting. Jones and Blankenship
were charged with violating the tribe's confidentiality by using
the enrollment list for political gain. A group calling itself
the Committee for Protection of Citizen's Rights used the list
to mail letters to enrolled members living off the reservation.
"If you live away from Cherokee, this may be your last opportunity
to participate in the election of officials who will either protect
or take away your assets and rights in our nation," the letter
says.
The letter recommended council members having "a strong record
of protecting your rights" for election.
Investigator Bill Jones, a Waynesville attorney, found no criminal
wrong doings in Jones and Blankenship securing the list. However,
some council members said using the list for a political mail
out constituted ethical misconduct and a violation of the oath
of office and was, therefore, grounds for impeachment.
Tribal council had postponed any action against Jones and Blankenship
until after the elections. However, the election itself created
additional controversy when several candidates protested the legality
of absentee voters.
Crowe said if there had been no absentee votes, he would have
won the election by almost 200 votes.
Not counting the absentee votes, Crowe received 1,718 votes to
Hicks' 1,538. In the absentee ballots, Hicks received 424 votes
to Crowe's 156. The total count showed Hicks with 1,962 votes,
92 more than Crowe's 1,870.
The election board denied Crowe's protest, but they did agree
to hold runoffs in Yellowhill and Cherokee County/Snowbird communities.
Also citing the absentee voting issue, Yellowhill candidate Richard
"Twidge" Welch filed a protest. Missy Crowe, another
Yellowhill candidate, also filed a protest, but hers questioned
Blankenship's qualifications to run for office in light of the
impeachment investigation.
The election board ruled Blankenship's connection to the political
mail out "intended to influence the election," and he
was therefore ineligible for office.
In yet another protest, Cherokee County/Snowbird candidate Brenda
Norville alleged that current representative Glenda Sanders misled
voters by telling them to register to vote in Cherokee County
because of their ancestry. In the complaint Norville said that
residency, not ancestry, should determine where a person votes.
On review, the election board did find registered voters in her
township who legally should have been registered in other communities.
Norville wants those questionable ballots thrown out.
Blankenship's impeachment hearing is expected to begin next week.
In the meantime, his attorney, Robert Saunooke, has filed for
an injunction against the proceedings.
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