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On Friday, November 14th 2008, the Election Board met with tribal attorney Craig Dorsay, so that Dorsay could explain the election ordinance to the board. Lisa Brown and I also attended the meeting. The meeting was recorded by Tracey Worman.

When they had finished reviewing the ordinance I asked Election Board chairman Tracey Worman a few questions. She told us that she had been on the Election Board in October 2007 and that she had worked with Tina Retasket then. I asked if Tina had worked on the General Election at that time, and Worman said Tina had been appointed only for the referendum. I asked how she knew that Tina had been appointed only for the referendum, and Worman said that was what General Manager Brenda Bremner had told Retasket, Worman, Cova St. Onge, and Kurtis Barker.

Election Board Chairman Tracey Worman said all of this in front of tribal attorney Craig Dorsay.

Worman said she had a memo detailing the terms of Tina Retasket's appointment to the Election Board. I asked to see it and she produced it for me, but tribal attorney Craig Dorsay intercepted it. After examining the document, Dorsay denied me access to it. He said if I wanted to see it I would have to request it from Tribal Council. He did not explain what authority he had over the Election Board or their documents. As far as I know he has no such authority.

The memo that Tracey Worman produced and described was also described for me by Brenda Bremner on November 6th when we were discussing Tina Retasket's appointment:

Lynette Warren: Why was she only appointed for the referendum?

Brenda Bremner: Because she had announced her candidacy for Council. So she could be on the General. She got elected last year. She couldn't be on the Election Board to deal with the general election.

Lynette Warren: So she didn't get a year long appointment?

Brenda Bremner: No, she got appointed only for the referendum.In my notes I specifically... in my note, in my memo I gave to them, she was notified and they were notified in Council that she would only be on there for the referendum.

Lynette Warren: So knowing that she was gonna be a candidate she was only appointed for the referendum?

Brenda Bremner: The deal was the referendum.

At the special Tribal Council on November 8th, however, Brenda Bremner denied that she knew that Tina Retasket planned to run for Tribal Council when Bremner appointed Retasket to the Election Board in October 2007. She denied this in front of the Tribal Council and tribal attorney Craig Dorsay.

Lest anyone be confused, we only have one Election Board which is charged with managing all tribal elections. By law, all Election Board appointments are for one year. By law, one cannot be appointed to the Election Board if one plans to run for tribal office during that one year term of service.

At the meeting on Friday with Craig Dorsay and the Election Board, I also got to see the Election Board's signed oaths of office for the past few years as well as resignation letters. Tina Retasket's oath of office was no different form that of other members. But while there were a number of resignations on file going back as far as 2006, there was no record of Tina Retasket's departure form the Election Board in early 2007.

On Thursday November 13th, Worman told me that she had no resignation from Retasket in ealrly 2007. She told me "That was between Brenda and Tina". Of course Brenda Bremner claims she does not oversee the Election Board so there is no legitimate reason why she would be involved in Retasket's resignation. The Election Board should have a written record of Retasket's resignation, as it has for other members, but in this case General Manager Brenda Bremner avoided leaving a paper trail which could have been damaging to Tina Retasket's political career.