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Difference was one vote in race for Eastern Band principal chief

By Rose Hooper
With only one vote between them, the two candidates who each received 26 percent of the June 5 primary vote will square off in Eastern Band of Cherokee General Election for principal chief. Carroll "PeeWee" Crowe, the current vice chief, will face newcomer Michell Hicks in the Sept. 4 race.

According to unofficial election results, Hicks received 839 votes, one more than Crowe's 838. Sunny Crowe with the Eastern Band Board of Elections said official results should be available the first of next week.

Current Chief Leon Jones, serving his first four-year term, was defeated in his bid for re-election. He received 627 votes, or 19 percent.

Candidates Richard Samuel Sneed received 580 votes, followed by Bill Ledford at 110, Marion Teesateskie, 99, and Lloyd Carl Owle, 96.

Crowe, no newcomer to politics, is the son of the late John Crowe, the tribe's principal chief for three terms.

While Hicks, the tribe's director of budget and finance, is a newcomer in the political arena, his foundation in tribal finances dates back to 1987. Whoever wins the September election will oversee an operating budget exceeding $130 million.

In the race for vice chief, here's how the votes tallied: Larry Blythe, 1,283; Teresa Bradley McCoy 775; Robert "Bob" Long, 425; James E. "Buddy Lambert, 293; James D. Eller, 230; and Sam Saunooke, 125.

Votes in the tribal council races went as follows:

Yellowhill: Alan B. Ensley, 168; Bob Blankenship, 172; Gerri Wolfe Grady, 62; Donna Saunooke Ball, 77; Richard Lance Welch, 99; Mary "Missy" Crowe, 86; Ted Major Lambert, 59; and Cheryl Shell Medford, 64.

Birdtown: Dan McCoy, 349; Albert Dewitt Crowe, 351; Michelle Owle,76; Jim Owle, 368; and William Jesse Murphy, 140.

Painttown: Tommy Saunooke, 291; Mark Wayne Hicks, 70; Marie L. Junaluska, 153; Mike Driver, 22; Jim Farris, 65; Bentley Tahquette, 51; Ned Edward Stamper, 63; Wilma Taylor, 27; Cynthia E. Grant, 33; and Mollie L. Grant, 54.

Wolfetown: Bob Parker, 101; Wyatt Edward Chiltoskie, 70; Kathryn Ann Elkins, 17; Donald T. Thompson, 26; Sallie T. Arch, 42; Dwayne "Tuff" Jackson, 218; Shirley Littlejohn Crowe, 40; Carroll Eddie Crowe, 80; Jonathan Dwight Littlejohn, 13;Samuel Farrell Reed, 46; Roland Carr Crowe, 113; Denny Ensley, 43; Mike Parker, 201; Tony Cabe, 93; and Paul Ensley, 59.

Big Cove: Perry Shell, 168; McAdoo "Cricket" Driver, 42; Joseph Lawrence Johnson III, 68; Myrtle Driver Johnson, 80; Francine P. Watty, 76; Mary W. Thompson, 128; and Sheila Standingdeer, 48.

Snowbird/Cherokee County: David E. Crowe, 74; Wayne Wachacha,34; John Kennon Wolfe, 47; William A. "Billy" Brown, 88; Angela Rose Kephart, 354; Brenda Long-Norville, 156; and Abe Wachacha, 116.

Back to Archive: 06/12/03.
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