Lillie Butler 536
Bud Lane 474
Dee Pigsley 433

Lynette Warren 352
Kurtis Barker 350
Melinda Logan 302
Farnk Aspria Sr. 190
Ken Blacketer, Jr. 131

I believe there were a total of 978 total ballots

Estimate count ended around 6:15pm.

There were approximately 60 people in attendance
at the General Council meeting.

Meeting ended close to or after 4pm.

There's no Miss Congeniality prize so, for me, it's 4th place as runner up.

I took 4th place, behind Dee Pigsley, who finished in 3rd place. Not enough to get me on the Tribal Council this year, but I am optimistic about the changes we can still make in the coming year.

Thank you, everyone who took the effort to support me. I got encouraging phone calls and emails from tribal members who, like many others, want more accountability from the tribal government and deserve more information about our businesses and tribal salaries, and government spending. They asked me to keep up the good work. It meant a lot to me to hear from them.

Often a breakthrough is achieved just as a person is about to give up. Albert Einstein talked about this when he said, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." I hope that that those who desire more transparency and accountability will hold to that spirit and not give up.

We not only have next year, but we have this year, too. We can contribute by remaining hopeful and talking with each other throughout the year.

On to the 2010 election:

Lisa Brown, in her usual energetic form, got the vote tallies out to Siletz Tribal Members around the world on Saturday evening.

Just a couple of years ago most members would have had to wait weeks for the results of an election, but Siletz.Net has changed the paradigm of Siletz tribal communications. Lisa had the tally posted within minutes of the announcement of the results in Siletz.

It's been an interesting year in Siletz tribal politics.

Bud Lane and Dee Pigsley began their campaigns early last year. In March their Election Board sued me. In June I announced my candidacy in Brookings. In July, Pigsley used her column in the the tribal newspaper to campaign against me. Then the Election Board who sued me ran it's own candidate - Kurtis Barker, who was given the support of Pigsley-Bremner machine in it's bloc campaign letter. Chinook Winds worker Melinda Logan threw her hat into the ring this year, along with Ken Blacketer and Frank Aspria. The new Election Board proved even more oppressive than the last, prohibiting me from referring to other candidates in my statement for the voters pamphlet, and, finally, prohibiting candidates from even speaking or referring to one another at the Candidates Fair.

In spite of all that, it was a record turnout for voters and when the ballots were counted on Saturday, here's what it looked like.

Lillie Butler 58% support of all who cast a vote
Bud Lane 48%
Dee Pigsley 44%

Lillie Butler took a comfortable 10% margin above all other candidates. Her 536 votes smashed all records. However, it's likely that 3rd place finisher, Dee Pigsley, who fell behind Lillie by more than 100 votes, has been installed as Chairman by her own majority on the Tribal Council.

I haven't received word on who was chosen on Sunday to chair the Tribal Council, but if the tribal council would, for once, put the voters' best interest in front of their own best interest, they would have selected Lillie Butler as Tribal Council Chairman this year.

All the best to my own supporters and to challengers Melinda Logan and Ken Blacketer. Lillie Butler's resounding first place victory is an indication that the tide is turning. Hang tough, everyone.

Lynette Warren

Lynette Warren, Candidate for Tribal Council

I wish the best to our membership in 2010. I hope that tribal members, near and far, will reflect on the events of 2009 and will be encouraged to act upon them and their desire for a better tribal government. I believe that, with your support, we can reform this government. There are many areas that will be improved or resolved if we move to institute the following five measures toward accountability, wise investment, and greater transparency.

1) Increase Per Capita From 40% to 70% of the EPR

2) Cost of Living Adjustments for Chinook Winds Casino Employees

3) Term Limits for Tribal Council and Tribal General Manager

4) Internet Video Streaming of All Tribal Council Meetings

5) Detailed Profit and Loss Statements for all Tribal Businesses in Nesika Illahee

Per Capita - Excess Pledge Revenue or EPR, is the money that is left over from the gross revenue of the casino after expenses. Every year, 60% of the EPR is used in government programs. Much of it is wasted on bad investments, boondoggles, and huge pay raises for elite tribal managers. Only 40% of the EPR is distributed to the members via their per capita checks.

It has long been my position that per capita is the most equitable means of promoting the general welfare of the members of this tribe. Casino profits belong to the members, not to the Tribal Council. Leaving only 40% for the members is effectively a 60% tax on tribal members' money. If the Federal and State government charged us 60% tax on our money we would be up in arms, so why should the Tribal Government get away with levying such an exorbitant tax on our membership? The majority on the tribal council will pretend that this cannot be done, but don't believe it. Members, as individuals know how best to benefit themselves and their families with their incomes, therefore we must move forward now to increase per capita to a more reasonable level.

There are a number of ways the current government programs can be readjusted to return 70% back to the members. One thing that can be done would be to roll Economic Development and Investment into one category, since both have been marked by severe overspending and loss due to unwise and self-interested policy decisions on the part of the current tribal council majority. Limiting their funding and returning it to the membership would no doubt make the government more efficient and frugal when it comes to spending casino profits.

It's time to lower the 60% income tax on tribal members' casino income.

Chinook Winds Employee Cost of Living Adjustments – Our tribal government has, for too long, forgotten the workers at our only reliably profitable business, Chinook Winds Casino. In tough economic times our Casino employees are always the first to be expected to do more with less, while political insiders in tribal administration do less with more.

The Tribal Council majority votes for exorbitant pay raises for management in Siletz. Between 2006 and 2008, it appears that the tribal Administrative Manager Sharon Edenfield, received a 13% pay raise, Human Resource Manager Michele Rowan got 49%, and Assistant General Manager Tina Retasket took a whopping 73% pay increase. I got the figures for these positions through the Freedom of Information Act. These are matters of open public record as far as the federal government is concerned but they are heavily guarded state secrets within our tribe. And I've heard from a reliable source that Brenda Bremner's top managers received very generous raises again in 2009.

This should not be happening. We lavish fat cats in the tribal administration with high salaries while our casino workers produce the lion's share of our revenue. It's time to re-evaluate our pay raise policies and open it up to the light of day by reporting administrative salaries to the members of this tribe so that we don't have to go to Federal government agencies to obtain that information.

Term Limits – It doesn't take much of a review of what has happened over the last few years to see that conflicts of interest are becoming an insurmountable problem in our tribal government. In 2004 when Bud Lane took his seat on the tribal council, in violation of the ethics ordinance which, at the time, prohibited him from doing so while he held a tribal job, he was the only Tribal Council member with a tribal job.

From 2004 to 2009 we've gone from having one Tribal Council member with a tribally paid position to seven! Where are they now when it comes to tribal jobs?

Lillie Butler is reportedly no longer receiving pay for her WEX job with the tribe. Bud Lane and Robert Kentta enjoy full time high paying careers in the Culture Department. Loraine Butler is in Enrollment. Sharon Edenfield is among the very highest paid managers in the tribe. Jessie Davis manages the Hee Hee Illahee RV Park near her home in Salem, although she will not disclose her income to the membership who pay her. Since Tina Retasket left her $96,000/yr tribal job, she has been quietly taking temporary tribal jobs from her old boss, Brenda Bremner, refusing to disclose exactly when this work occurred or what she is being paid. She told me at a June meeting in Brookings, Oregon that it was none of the tribal members' business what she gets paid.

Reggie Butler points out that five members of the Tribal Council are supervised by Chairman Piglsey's niece, General Manager Brenda Bremner - who they in turn supervise themselves! The conflict of interest is appalling – they are their own boss's boss, and so is Bremner. One hand washes the other, washes the next, washes the next...

All the while, the Council members are voting to run the very programs and businesses which affect their tribal income. They may abstain from token votes when it comes to some budget questions which are most obviously affecting their income stream, but remember, this year we have a tribal council with a six person majority - the Pigsley voting majority consists of Dee Pigsley, Bud Lane, Robert Kentta, Tina Retasket, Sharon Edenfield, and Jessie Davis. They identify themselves each year in their letter supporting their candidates – this year Kentta, Retasket, Davis and Edenfield endorse Pigsley and Lane. If they get their way then next year Pigsley, Lane, Davis, and Edenfield will endorse Kentta and Retasket. You see the pattern. This block can be relied upon to vote in lock step with Chairman Pigsley's desires whenever necessary, but they also engage in political log rolling. Each of them can be confident in the support of the other five with regard to their increasing their own salaries, their family member's salaries, and funding their programs. They use this tactic to easily circumvent our ethics laws, which were intended to rein in conflicts of interest and political crony-ism And this corrupt process - “I'll fund you, then you fund me...” - has turned our tribal government into exclusive private club funded at your expense. This must end, and term limits are a way to end it.

Term limits will require a Constitutional vote and that's no small feat, but we will never see this Tribal Council allow members to vote on term limits as long as Dee Pigsley's majority remains firmly entrenched - we must first break the stranglehold of the Pigsley majority. We have the opportunity to that this year - by sending Dee Pigsley and Bud Lane back to their private lives and giving their seats to representatives who will not do the bidding of their political machine.

Video Streaming of Tribal Council Meetings – There can be no effective and long lasting reform of tribal government without an informed membership. For years the Tribal Council has been keeping the members in the dark about much of the business it conducts. The reports they pass on to members are full of sunshine and lollipops while, in reality, they continue to lose money hand over fist. When it comes to press releases and articles in our official tribal media, the information our public information officials distribute is long on fluff and short on relevant data.

Dee Pigsley has said that she wished more members would attend the Tribal Council meetings, but it's very difficult for most members to attend meetings because they don't live in the area. Imagine how discouraging it is for an out-of-area member taking special efforts to attend meetings and then being made to stand in the hallway for hours outside the council chambers waiting for the Tribal Council to come back from executive session. Most of the time the Tribal Council do not even give an adequate reason for going into secret executive sessions, much less an estimate for the amount of time they'll be there.

Over the course of her latest term, Chairman Pigsley has been asked to spend less time in executive session. Her response has been to further limit information to the members and to spend more time in secret meetings. As Reggie Butler points out, this is done to prevent even Tribal Council members from telling members what the Council is really doing.

Even when business is conducted in open session, there is the worsening problem of the minutes, which do not reflect what actually occurs in the meetings. I know this because I have attended Tribal Council meetings where relevant discussions are often glossed over or entirely omitted by the minutes.

Concerned members have urged the Tribal Council to provide accurate minutes in a timely manner, but the Tribal Council remains unresponsive and uncooperative. The best solution to this problem is to provide video streaming of the meetings - as they occur - to the members. This can be done in the Members Only area of the the CTSI website. These sessions should then be archived on the web and made available for members to view at their convenience.

Our leaders cannot make informed decisions and act in the best interest of this tribe unless they have input from an informed membership. The present situation with the lack of openness at the meetings and untimely transmittal of information to tribal members is intolerable. The technology to stream videos or audio files to our members in any part of the world as the meetings happen is now inexpensive and easily available. It is imperative that we implement it.

Profit and Loss Statements in Nesika Illahee - Every year we receive incoherent and misleading financial statements which are so difficult to decipher, even Chairman Pigsley couldn't explain the meaning of the figures in the tribe's annual report when I asked her to do so at the November 2008 General Council meeting. If the STBC Chairman can't make heads or tails out of the STBC financial report to the members, who can?

It doesn't take a PhD in accounting to understand honest financial reports, but the reports we tribal members get are not meant to be understood. What we get is a vague and confusing overview, along with a smattering of cherry-picked highlights. The reports the Tribal Council receive on our businesses throughout the year are not the same ones they distribute to the membership. You deserve a fair and honest accounting of how your money is spent.

As the owners and investors in these businesses, tribal members deserve nothing less than comprehensive, investment-grade information. This can easily be distributed to the membership in the quarterly Nesika Illahee.

Siletz Tribal Business Corporation (STBC)

I've been asked why I persist in bringing up issues about failed STBC businesses year after year, but these examples are not ancient history. Much of it is still ongoing and all of it falls within the last three years. It's the economic record of the incumbent Chairman and Vice-Chairman who I am running against in this 2010 election.

As Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Tribal Council, Dee Pigsley and Bud Lane have also long been the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Siletz Tribal Business Corporation which exists for the economic development of the tribe. Three years ago, when Dee Pigsley and Bud Lane assumed their current terms in office, STBC announced it's top priorities for the economic development of the tribe which you can find in the April 2007 issue of Nesika Illahee. The top three priorities were:

1. Siletz Aeroteam
2. River Reclamation Group (RRG)
3. Chemawa Station

STBC invested millions of your dollars in these three projects. So how has STBC performed under the leadership of Dee Pigsley and Bud Lane in their current terms?

Siletz Aeroteam never broke ground in the Siletz area and had to be de-funded by the end of 2007. You think that's bad? River Reclamation Group didn't even survive the month! RRG was shut down in April 2007 when it was discovered that the permits required for it's operation were not in place. The tribe invested a great deal of money in the Chemawa Station project with no return on our investment – the project has been at a dead standstill for over two years. What they told us would be a vibrant shopping center remains a vacant lot - years after spending millions of your dollars.

Upon the shutdown of RRG, it's equipment was used to found a new venture for the tribe: Northwest Maritime. Northwest Maritime appears to be in disarray and perpetually unprofitable. Another multi-million investment of STBC is the Salem Flex Building which has remained vacant of paying tenants (other than the tribe) throughout the entire current terms of Chairman Pigsley and Vice-Chairman Lane. We continue to make huge payments every month for this building we have never been able to rent. The performance of STBC under he leadership of Pigsley and Lane has been absolutely atrocious.

Last year, a tribal member asked Chairman Pigsley what has become of STBC's shares in US Aeroteam? Recall that US Aeroteam is a company that STBC, under the leadership of Chairman Pigsley, bailed out of bankruptcy using tribal members' money. The Chairman responded that US Aeroteam is making a profit and that the profits are being reinvested. But anyone who understands the structure of ownership of US Aeroteam knows that our “partners” at US Aeroteam are simply keeping the money. Because of the way Chairman Pigsley and STBC structured the bailout deal, our US Aeroteam partners own 80% of the company but retain 100% control over the company. Their four votes on the board of directors always trump the tribe's one vote. And I'm told by those in the know that US Aeroteam stopped paying off the balance of its $2,000,000 debt to the tribe a year ago.

It appears US Aeroteam has become the latest in a string of deadbeat partners and tenants. We pay the salaries of high-priced lawyers, some of whom have made millions off the backs the tribe. So what is our crack legal team doing to collect from this parade of deadbeats? Nothing, as far as the Tribal Council will tell us. They would rather hide their losses than contest them, something which our business associates are happy to take advantage of. After all, Tribal Council aren't losing their own money, they're just losing your money.

STBC continues to lose money year after year under the management of Chairman Pigsley and Vice-Chairman Lane. This has been going on longer than just the past three years. There is no reason to expect this to change until we change leadership by voting them both out of office.

Lisa Brown's Expulsion

Last year Lisa Brown was swept into office with a stunning 401 votes, the fifth highest total in our history. She ran a campaign of reform and has worked diligently for the last few years as an advocate for members whose voices would not have been otherwise heard. She was remarkable in her effort to bring transparency to this government. And none of this sat very well with the present Tribal Council majority.

The ink was barely dry on the 2009 election certification when the Pigsley majority set out to undo the election. At her very first regular Tribal Council meeting in February council members Dee Pigsley, Bud Lane, Robert Kentta, Tina Retasket and Jessie Davis voted to initiate expulsion proceedings against Brown. The first notice that tribal members saw in the Siletz News concerning these expulsion proceedings was the notification in Chairman Pigsley's column in April that Lisa Brown had, in fact, been expelled from the council on March 29th. All tribal members in the community and across the country should have had the opportunity to have their voices heard on so grave a matter as the immediate expulsion of a newly elected Tribal Council matter. Instead many tribal members were not even aware this was going on until it was over.

In his letter to voters this year Reggie Butler wrote:

“When the former Chinook Winds Casino General Manager resigned, he should have been a very happy camper. The majority of the Tribal Council took care of that.”

Reggie has to be very careful because of the legal cone-of-silence imposed by Pigsley's majority, but I take this to confirm that they gave Jim Kikumoto a deluxe golden parachute as part of their plan to bury Lisa Brown.

The elections are our last defense against the Pigsley-Bremner political machine. The overturning of the election via Lisa Brown's expulsion is one of the worst acts in our tribe's political history. On this basis alone tribal members should never vote for anyone who worked to expel Lisa Brown, nor anyone they endorse.

The Election Board's Lawsuit

During last year's campaign I informed voters that Tracey Worman and Kurtis Barker, who were, at that time, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Election Board, had received pay for serving on the Election Board through three prior elections, when the Election Ordinance clearly said that “Election Board members shall serve without pay.” These are well documented facts. At precisely the same time the Tribal Council was expelling Lisa Brown, their appointees, Worman and Barker – who were still on the Election Board - filed suit against me in tribal court for statements I made during the campaign. That lawsuit continues to this day, even as Kurtis Barker runs for Tribal Council and Tracey Worman manages his campaign on Facebook.

The advantages of suing one's political adversaries will surely be apparent to future candidates. Substantial investments of a candidate's time which should be used to run a campaign must be devoted a legal defense and held in reserve for court dates.

Is this really the way we want to conduct our elections in this tribe?

This isn't a theoretical fear. In November the Tribal Council passed a law making it possible for them to sue tribal members for criticizing them in their official capacities. Please see www.siletz.net for the details of it. Clearly, the Pigsley-Bremner political machine are preparing to go much further down this road and if they are successful, all effective political criticism will be silenced. Your own ability to freely communicate with one another without fearing retribution from litigation happy tribal officials will vanish, as well.

Note that they don't have to win a case to cripple their opponents campaigns, they just need to tie them down in court. In defending myself in Barker's case against me, I have subpoenaed Dee Pigsley, Brenda Bremner, and Tina Retasket as witnesses. They have used the tribal attorney, Craig Dorsay, on your behalf and at your expense, to attempt to quash the subpoenas, denying me discovery in my defense. It's their opinion that I can be sued by their appointees, but they cannot be questioned under oath.

It's important to remember that I'm not suing tribal officials, tribal officials are suing me. Unlike the Tribal Council and the General Manager, I have no access to attorney services on your dime, as the Tribal Chairman and General Manager do, nor am I receiving assistance from members of the General Manager's staff, as the Plaintiffs appear to be.

But this case is not only about me. The mere threat of such suits will necessarily have a chilling effect on free speech in our tribe. The next time it could be you or another candidate that you support.

We are at a crossroads here. Are we going to let public officials haul tribal members into court merely for criticizing them, or are we going to uphold the freedom of speech that was clearly intended for us through our own tribal Constitution? The voters must send a strong message to Kurtis Barker and to his mentors on the Tribal Council that this abuse of the court system for political gain will not be tolerated. And please don't fail to note that the entire Pigsley voting block on the Tribal Council endorsed Kurtis Barker in their letter to voters this year. This isn't an incredible string of coincidences, this is a political team that is using every tribal resource they can get their hands on to crush their critics.

I Need Your Vote

I ask that you vote for me in this election. If elected I will fight to make our government accountable to all tribal members and to break the stranglehold of the Pigsley-Bremner political machine.

I do not agree with some important votes that Lillie Butler cast this year, but I will never forget that she and Reggie Butler were the only tribal officials who stood up for Lisa Brown and voted against overturning our election. On that basis alone she deserves your vote this year. Lillie and Reggie have also been the only Tribal Council members willing to tell us the truth about STBC – that our businesses are floundering. I urge you to vote for Lillie Butler.

I don't have enough knowledge about Melinda Logan to make a solid recommendation, but she has been endorsed by Reggie and Lillie Butler so I encourage you to consider her for your third vote.

Last year we elected Lisa Brown, but the Pigsley-Bremner political machine was able to overturn the election because we also elected Jessie Davis, a loyal member of their voting block. Taking one council seat from them wasn't enough – they simply took it back. We must defeat all three of their candidates this year – Dee Pigsley, Bud Lane and Kurtis Barker – or we leave their political machine with the power to overturn another election.

Please visit www.siletz.net for full documentation and discussion of everything I've said here, and for ongoing coverage of the the election and our tribe. You can reach me via siletz.net if you have any questions.

Please share this letter with other tribal members.

Lynette Warren
email: areswarren(at)gmail.com

Loraine, I hope you think enough of Lisa to vote not to remove her from council, Many of us voted her in and it is in the best interest of the tribe to keep her on council. Many of us are watching how this goes and we know that you are the deciding vote. Please help us to keep her in, thanks
[name withheld]

Mrs. Butler

I am writing in support of Lisa Brown. I am requesting that you vote against the expulsion of Lisa Brown and uphold the will of the tribal members in the election. Lisa was voted in by an overwhelming number of votes. We need to have individuals with differing views on our tribal council, we need individuals willing to ask questions and seek answers, we need individuals who are willing to hold themselves and other council members accountable for their actions. I believe Lisa is this type of individual.

Please do not allow political pressure to sway your decision, but instead recognize the will of our tribal members.

Thank you,

Cheryl Lauridson

From: Donna Rodriguez
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:20:22 -0700
To: Dee Pigsley; Bud Lane; Jessie Davis; Lillie Butler; Loraine Butler; Robert Kentta; Tina Retasket
Subject: A voice in the matter of tribal ethics.

Tribal Council,

I am writing this letter on behalf of every tribal member who voted in this year's election, for every tribal member who has voted in the past and for every tribal member who will vote in the future.

I am appalled that five people (and you know who you are) on our Tribal Council believe they are above the tribe, to make decisions for us according to their wants and needs. I, and other tribal members, are appalled that you are going as far as to to expel Lisa Brown. It is totally obvious that you don't care what the tribe wants or needs.

It saddens me that we have entrusted something so precious to you people. We have entrusted you with our lives, our children's lives and OUR WAY of life. By your action, you have made it clear that your lives, your families' lives and YOUR OWN WAY of life is all that is important to you. Lisa Brown has got to Tribal Council by the peoples vote! It is because she is not who you wanted to win the election and because she has personally pointed a finger at each and everyone of you that you want her gone. You are planning to make sure to get rid of her for good. What does that say for each and every one of your own council ethics?

It does not matter whether you like Lisa or not. It does not matter whether I like Lisa or not. Your job is for the tribe, to help the tribe in making important decisions, not to make them for the tribe. The majority voted Lisa into council and she deserves the right to prove herself worthy or not. It is not up to five or six members of our Tribal Council to decide that Lisa is not capable of performing her job on council. Somehow, Tribal Council's power has gotten out of hand and has gone straight to their heads. It is because we trusted our council to make the right choices for the tribe and to treat us as equals (each and every one of us) that we have let you get this far. But now we see that your interest is not the tribe's interest, but your own interest. I believe that if you continue, and succeed, in your attempt to remove Lisa Brown from Tribal Council for your own reasons, without consulting with the majority of the tribe and giving them the opportunity to personally question your motives, you people will lose a lot of respect. And I don't think the three council members, who are coming to the end of their terms, want to disappoint too many tribal members. This action will no doubt affect the votes they will receive if they plan to run for council again.

I know that I am not the only one that feels this way because I have been listening to the people, unlike the tribal council who want to keep us quiet. As Tribal Council, you should not want to silence us, you should want to include the General Council in all major decisions. I like to believe that our council members have enough dignity and honesty to not let this expulsion happen. Please think of the 401 tribal members that voted Lisa in, not the few that hate her for their own personal reasons. This is not about who likes her and who does not. This is about tribal ethics! Give the girl a chance. Lisa has earned the right to show us what she can do. The members who voted for her gave her that right. If she fails and the people are not happy with her then let them decide if she stays or goes at the next election. That is the right of the people. What you are doing tells those 401 tribal members that their word does not count. I have heard several people, who did not vote for Lisa, complain about what is going on. They agree it isn't right for the council to overturn an election like this.

I also have something to say about Jim Kikimoto resigning. It is time for him to go, he should have gone sooner. If he wants to run a golf course then let him buy his own and run it. Let us get on with casino business. there are golf courses everywhere, why do you think the golf course was for sale? We need to provide training for tribal members that want to move forward in their own casino. There are so many dedicated tribal members working at our casino that need the opportunity to advance and never get it.

The economy is not our only problem at the casino. If you go behind the pretty lights and slots, there are a lot of things being ignored. Things that would make the casino run smoothly, like a working freight elevator, a working escalator, a larger kitchen and food storage (freezers, coolers, work areas, etc...), building a positive work force and much more. the list is so long I cannot include everything. Give the people back their hours and stop wasting money on stupid fitness challenges and employee golf tournaments...all things to bring business into the golf course. Forget the golf course for now. Concentrate on getting the casino back into production, our marketing team needs to bring the business back into the casino where it belongs. The casino is why we are here.

We need to get our people into training and get them into positions that will make them feel good about themselves. Give them encouragement and reasons to better themselves. That was the original goal and we lost track of that goal since Jim K. has been here. It is time to FOCUS on the tribes best interests once again.

I know you think that I am no one important and that my opinion does not matter. But I know better, I am an enrolled Siletz tribal member and I am proud to be Indian, rich or poor, no matter what! My opinion does matter because I am tribal. Every one of our tribal member's opinion matters whether you like to think so or not. Stop excluding the membership! We are not YOUR tribe, you are OUR Tribal Council.

Sincerely,
Donna J. Rodriguez #1054
One of many concerned tribal members.

In a stunningly naked power grab Dee Pigsley and allies on the Tribal Council voted to expel newly elected Lisa Brown from the Tribal Council at her very first regular Tribal Council meeting.

This happened on Saturday, just two weeks after Brown was elected with the fifth highest vote total in tribal history.

I'm still scrambling for details, but it's my understanding there will be a meeting on March 19th to decide the issue. Six Tribal Council votes will be required to expel Lisa Brown from the Tribal Council.

401 tribal voters propelled her into office just two weeks ago.

The following letter from Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley was printed today:

This letter is meant to share with you our sadness, disappointment and outrage over the recent inclusion of respected tribal elder and tribal council member Frank Simmons in an inaccurate and unfairly biased article about tribal council elections (“Siletz ready for council elections,” Jan. 23 edition) on the day of his funeral.

In all my years of serving the tribe, reporter Terry Dillman has taken news articles to a new level of thoughtlessness and shows a blatant disregard for the facts. I am so disappointed in the article. To take a statement by a respected member of our community and place it in an article about a controversy that has been created by a willing newspaper editor and a reporter, and to do it on the day we laid to rest our beloved council member is disrespectful and insensitive.

Our tribe has more than 4,500 members, yet only two disgruntled tribal members are allowed an opportunity to discredit our government. Your newspaper lets this happen and never contacts anyone to validate issues or facts.

Terry Dillman's reporting is a detriment to our community and to your newspaper. Newspapers should report in a fair and honest manner. The people in our community rely on your newspaper for actual and factual news that is fair and unbiased.

Dee Pigsley

Siletz Tribal Chairman

Below is the article that Delores Pigsley is complaining about. Terry Dillman seems to have gone out of his way to keep the article in question balanced.

Siletz ready for council elections
By Terry Dillman of the News-Times
Jan 23, 2009

Eleven candidates actively campaign as they vie for three spots

Incumbents Jessie Davis and Reggie Butler Sr. face challenges from Frank Aspria Sr., Lisa Brown, Eva Clayton, Divona Christiansen, Jane John, Monte Kentta, Phil Rilatos Sr., Darlene Smith, and Lynette Warren when voters go to the polls for the Feb. 7 Siletz Tribal Council election.

In letters to the editor of Siletz News, the tribe's monthly newspaper, statements in the voter's pamphlet, and elsewhere, the candidates have shared their ideas and perspectives about what they believe are priorities for the tribe during the next 52 weeks and beyond. Economic development, health care, affordable housing, employment, and education opportunities for tribal members in the tribe's 11-county service area remain high priorities, as does government accountability, which has emerged as a prime consideration for some candidates.
*
Controversy has dogged the run-up to this year's election, with accusations of improprieties alleged by a pair of candidates, along with challenges to a few decisions made by the election board leading up to the annual candidate fair, held Jan. 10 in the Siletz Tribal Community Center on Government Hill.

Brown and Warren, who sought election last year as government reformers, said for the first time ever, the tribal government rejected a candidate's statement (Warren's). And “you won't see any details of my candidate's declaration” in the Nesika Illahee - the quarterly publication for tribal members, Warren added, because for the first time in the publication's history, declarations made at the tribe's general council meeting “were not reported.”

Both Warren, who gleaned 177 votes last year as a virtually unknown first-time candidate, and Brown, who fell just 29 votes short of being elected, say it's time to put integrity back into the tribal election process. Both have remained active advocates of more open government and more accountability from elected leaders and administrative staff. Brown said it's time for a “separation of powers,” with “no more tribal council as boss of everything.”

Brown also criticized the election board's decision to not record the proceedings at this year's candidate fair, nor allow anyone else to do so. In past years, the event was recorded and copies made available to tribal members unable to attend. Brown called it another example of the lack of transparency in tribal government.

Critics of Warren and Brown allege they will say and do anything to get elected. “Every year during election time, folks will try to discredit councilmen who have worked very hard for you, just to get elected,” stated a Dec. 30, 2008 letter to voting-eligible tribal members. “The best people to serve are those who have represented the tribe in a professional manner, who are willing to make the best decisions for the majority of our tribal members.”

Signed by Tribal Chairman Delores Pigsley, Vice Chairman Alfred “Bud” Lane III, Secretary Tina Retasket, council member Robert Kentta, Rosalie Bremner, and Mike Darcy - it urged tribal members to vote for current Treasurer Jessie Davis, and Phil Rilatos Sr., who has served several previous terms on tribal council, and incumbent Frank Simmons. The road to the election took an unfortunately somber turn this week when Simmons, 74, a tribal elder who was seeking re-election, died in Lincoln City Monday.

He provided a few words of wisdom about the tribe's future in his voter's pamphlet statement.

“It is important to remember what is good for the many, and when making decisions, the well-being of those generations yet to come must be considered,” Simmons noted. “It is something that I am very passionate about, and will not falter to ensure that our sovereignty and the rights of our tribal government are protected now and for future generations. I am compelled to work to protect our inherent rights that our ancestors so dearly died for. Our tribal traditions must be upheld. The dignity and integrity of our Indian people will live forever, if we represent our tribal people with respect.”

Election Board Chairman Tracey Worman certified the candidate list Dec. 26. Ballots and voters' pamphlets were mailed out to eligible tribal members Jan. 5, and Jan. 30 is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot. Public calibration of the voting machines is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at the tribal administration office in Siletz.

Election Day is Saturday, Feb. 7, with in-person voting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tribal Community Center in Siletz. Deadline for returning absentee ballots is 4 p.m. that day. Photo identification is required to vote in person, with no exceptions.

Council members serve three-year terms that overlap, with elections held every year for three of the nine positions.

Tribal council members appointed Kurtis Barker, Felicia Carmona, Teala Rilatos, and Tracey Worman to the 2009 election board. They will monitor the voting and certify results. The top three vote-getters will take the oath of office at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8, in tribal council chambers at the administration building.

Anyone with questions should call the election board office at 444-8256, or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1256.

Terry Dillman is the assistant editor of the News-Times. Contact him at (541) 265-8571, ext 225, or terrydillman@newportnewstimes.com.

I see nothing the least bit disrespectful to Frank Simmons in Terry Dillman's article. The funeral happened to be on a Friday, one of the two days a week the News Times is published. This was very shortly before the election and it would have been a disservice to voters to postpone coverage. And they could hardly cover the election without noting Frank's death.

Dee Pigsley is really just upset that there are channels of communication which report on tribal politics that she can't fully control. When Dee was elected in 2007 she characterized the 405 votes she received as "overwhelming support". Lisa Brown received 401 votes this year running a campaign highly critical of Pigsley, but Dee dismisses her today as one of "two disgruntled tribal members".

Note that Dee Pigsley's letter does not contest a single fact in the Terry Dillman's article. Her real gripe is that she and her niece, General Manager Brenda Bremner, did not get to control the coverage.

---

UPDATE (2/22/09): It's now clear that Dee Pigsley's letter was a pre-emptive strike in an attempt to deter news organizations from covering the expulsion of Lisa Brown from Tribal Council. The plan to expel Lisa was obviously already in motion.

There was nothing the least bit disrespectful to Frank Simmons in the News Times article as any fair minded reader can see.

It is absolutely disgusting and shameful that Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley has attempted to use the death of Frank Simmons to shield herself from political criticism so that she can overturn the result of our election.

The following letter was printed today in the Newport News-Times:

Thank you again for publishing our tribal election results. This is welcome information for a lot of us tribal members. Because of the printing and publishing schedule of our own Siletz News, most of our tribe will not get this information until the beginning of March.

The article was accurate and cheerful - of course you have no way of knowing that underneath that blithe coverage there was a couple of scenes played out that I want you to know about. 1. Even though Reggie Butler (incumbent) was welcomed back on tribal council, he was not endorsed for reelection by his own tribal council. 2. After the swearing in ceremony, a meeting was held to elect tribal council officers. Reggie Butler and Lisa Brown, with a little over 800 votes between them, made motions and voted to replace Dee Pigsley as chairman. The motions failed.

I need to express my disappointment on the publishing of an article by Kelly Ellis that contained attacks. I know for a fact that a lot of members, and the public, are no longer buying that ridiculousness. While Lynette Warren diplomatically asked if she could publish an article, she was not considered to express her opinions. Lynette Warren has an innate talent in both writing and speaking the real facts. Just about everything Lynette communicates about, she can produce a document to back up her statements. She goes the extra mile in time and effort to research and be able to show documentation.

It was a long time before Native Americans could vote. Even though Native Americans were covered under the Bill of Rights for some civil rights, it was a long time coming before Congress enacted the Indian Civil rights act of 1968 to extend into reservations. This was done because some Indian governments were becoming more tyrannical towards their own members. Are we going backwards? What a struggle to get this far and now we are being denied the right to express opinions and facts as anyone else. We have as much right to the freedom of press and speech as anyone else.

Rose Kentta

Elder Tribal Member

Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Lisa Brown was elected to the Siletz Tribal Council today. Incumbents Reggie Butler and Jessie Davis were also re-elected.

Lisa Brown
Siletz Tribal Council

Here is the vote count:
Read the rest of this article »

I've been asking Tribal Chairman Delores Pigsley for months about the illegal payments to the Election Board in 2007, and receiving few answers. Today I asked her:

We know that the Election Board was paid over the past three elections. This directly contradicted our law in place at the time, which said that "Election Board members shall serve without pay." In the Nesika Illahee you said our elections were fair and legal. How could the payments to the Election Board be legal?

Chairman Pigsley responded:

This was not an illegal election. The election needed to go forward, council agreed to let the staff people receive their pay. Were it not for them the election could not go forward. What would you have done?

I answered:

In answer to your question: I would have obeyed the law.

One thing you could have done was change the election ordinance as you did in September and November of 2008. But I would have made it legal to pay any tribal volunteer to serve on the board, not just hand-picked staff of the General Manager - because we need an Election Board that is independent of the Tribal Council and the General Manager for our elections to be fair and impartial.

You say the Tribal Council authorized paying Election Board members. I have two follow-up questions:

1. How did the Tribal Council have authority to ignore the election law which stated "Election Board members shall serve without pay"?

2. There is was no resolution passed by Tribal Council authorizing such payments. There is no mention in the minutes about Tribal Council authorizing such payments. Where is the record of this authorization?

Our recent elections have been illegal in an even more fundamental way. None of our last three elections was certified by a legally appointed Election Board. Our law clearly states that “The Election Board shall be appointed by resolution of the Tribal Council”, but none of the members of the Election Board for our last three elections were appointed by resolution of the Tribal Council - they were all illegally appointed by General Manager Brenda Bremner, while Tribal Council ignored it's legal responsibility. Chairman Pigsley has tried to cloud this issue, suggesting that Bremner only recommended appointments. That's not true; Bremner made all the appointments for our last three elections herself, in direct violation of our law.

Clearly it could not be legal to pay Election Board members when the law said they must serve without pay. Tribal Council has no constitutional authority to exempt the General Manager and the Election Board from our laws. And isn't it just terribly convenient that this illegal authorization was granted without any mention in Tribal Council minutes or any other public record? Did Tribal Council really even vote on the payments, or was this just a "tacit agreement" with the Tribal Council sitting silently while Brenda Bremner explained her illegal policy?

Last September the Tribal Council amended our election law to allow tribal staff members (only) to be paid for serving on the Election Board. Obviously there would be no need for this amendment if the payments received by the Election Board over the last three elections were legal already. Note that Tribal Council could have authorized paying any tribal member to serve on the Election Board. Tina Retasket was paid over $40 an hour to serve on the Election Board in 2007 - does anyone imagine there would be a shortage of volunteers if that same pay was offered to all tribal members?

So why is the Tribal Council only willing to pay tribal staff to work on the Election Board? Because that staff can be hand-picked by the Chairman's niece, General Manager Brenda Bremner. And a politically loyal Election Board comes in very handy when, for instance, you need to prevent an opposing candidates statement from going out to all tribal members in the voter's pamphlet.

Read the rest of this article »

I'm Lynette Warren and I'm running for Tribal Council....

...but you won't see my statement in your voters pamphlet because, for the first time in our history, a candidate's statement was rejected by the tribal government. You also won't see any details of my candidate's declaration in our quarterly Nesika Illahee, because, for the first time in it's history, the candidate's declarations made at the General Council Meeting were not reported. That is because Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley, and her niece - General Manager Brenda Bremner, along with Bremner's hand-picked Election Board want to keep you from seeing what you're about to see in this letter. But it's important that you read it.

I've been encouraged and grateful for the support given to me throughout the past year. In May we led a successful drive to block a Constitutional amendment that would have further disempowered the membership. In the the last election I received 177 votes. That's an impressive showing from an out-of-area, first time candidate who was virtually unknown until last year. My friend, ally, and long time tribal activist, Lisa Brown, nearly won, but she fell short by a mere 29 votes. Let's elect Lisa Brown this year! Reggie Butler has spoken out against our failed business policies and against the conflicts-of-interest inherent in the fact that six of our Tribal Council members hold tribal jobs, five of them under Brenda Bremner. I also endorse Reggie Butler.

In this letter, I will explain in detail how our business ventures have become one disaster after another. In fact, the Siletz Tribal Business Corporation has lost millions of dollars of your money and has lost money every year it has existed. But Dee Pigsley's political machine will not allow this to be mentioned in any tribal publication.

I will also explain in detail how our election process has been corrupted. Did you know that before Tina Retasket became a Tribal Council member, she was removed from the Election Board in early 2007 when she was caught campaigning for Chairman Pigsley and Vice-Chairman Bud Lane in the middle of an election she was supposed to be administering fairly? You probably don't , because the details were never published and there was no written record of her removal. And Pigsley's political machine put Retasket back on the Election Board for the very next election! I will also document how Brenda Bremner arranged illegal payments to her hand-picked Election Board through our last three elections. And now that Election Board has rejected my candidate's statement for the voters pamphlet, because I explained all this in my statement.
Read the rest of this article »

Happy New Year to All!
Another year is behind us....I wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year.

First, I thank all the Tribal employees who maximize our state and federal funding.... Thank You. For without taxpayer funding, this Tribe would not have one single program! There would be no housing, clinic, admin building, gym or wellness center. The list is too long to mention! It's difficult to imagine that this Tribe hasn't completed one project on it's own.

Like the rest of America, we need accountability! Listening to President Elect Obama this morning gives me hope that all corruption, mismanagement, fraud, and malfeasance, will soon be addressed. Every dollar will be accounted for. We won't tolerate people masquerading as a business entity that shows a 95% failure rate! The day of the Madoffs, Keatings, and Ken Lays are over!!!

We need change and experienced business people.

I will improve employee protection through a T.E.R.O. Also, time clocks (punched) and quarterly performance ratings based on competitive goals/objectives.

I propose and an ethics board separate from Administration and Tribal Council. empowered to levy fines, confinement and other sanctions. Your lifestyle will exemplify and reflect great values, otherwise, find someplace else to work!

The separation of Tribal Council and STBC (STEDCO), whatever they choose to call it. The obvious reasons...95% failure rate and no accountability whatsoever will not be tolerated.
Example: Your dentist pulls 95% of your good teeth, leaves the one that hurts....do you go back to him??? Some of you do, repeatedly!!!

I don't believe in a secret ballot. This isn't even cultural. Our history was individuals that led with strength and courage.

I would require more education of our leaders and managers...no one is "grandfathered" in. If the education/experience of those below you is greater that yours---watch out, you're about to be demoted.

We need to trim the fat, physically and financially. Our overweight members are dying too young and we are about out of options for insurance. Use the gym and wellness center, $2,000,000.00 worth of self care!

I would negotiate with with the various government agencies to create a contiguous reservation, address water rights as well as hunting , fishing, and gathering.

We have had people getting paid, for zero results, for far too long! If the program is only taking up valuable space and an employee position it should be eliminated.

No bonuses in the years that don't produce more revenue than the previous year. Pay wages so that employees aren't looking for a bonus to survive.

I would open our business meetings/ops as does the Grand Rondes'. Their plans get in the newspapers. They are very successful. And gee, no one has "stolen" their ideas!!!!
WE should follow their lead!

I would reduce all travel and training. The pay scale I see of $114,000.00 per year, you shouldn't need any further training! Or how about this scenario, you pay for your own training to retain your high paid job??? Try getting those wages in the private sector. You might get $28,000.00.

The extra T & T funds would be added to programs to better serve all members.

I would build our new clinic in Salem. This central location would offer easier access, housing for our medical staff and keep construction costs down because that is where our contractors would originate from.

No borrowing!!! we are one of only a handful of tribes that borrow funds for projects! We'll try saving our EPR and pay cash!! You know, just like you and I do. This process would eliminate all interest costs, legal and banking fees. The reason this process isn't followed is obvious...we are broke! We can't even borrow funds without signing away our sovereign immunity. If we don't borrow these funds, there would be no reason to have a "business" board. With no funds to pay them, no one would stick around. Get it now???

No golf course expansion!!! I would build a lakeside fly-in lodge with fishing, boats & swimming. A restaurant to compliment the lodge with shops for wine, cheese, deli and native crafts,

I personally could design an executive golf course that would be the toughest/most beautiful in America. I've successfully owned multiple businesses and managed a number also.

We need a change fro the "old guard". I'm that change.

Thank you,
Monte W Kentta

Early on December 24th, I submitted my candidate statement to the Election Board for publication to the Voters Pamphlet. It was submitted on time, as per the Election Board's rules, but the Election Board refuses to print it. Instead they are publishing the words, "No statement available," after my name in the Voters Pamplet. The following is my statement, as submitted to the Election Board last week.

Lynette Warren Candidate Statement

Our tribal elections are being run by individuals who do not follow our laws. At the last General Council meeting Tracey Worman and Kurtis Barker introduced themselves as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Election Board. In truth, they were not on the Election Board since their terms had expired. Barker said the Election Ordinance gave the General Manager the authority to to appoint them to the Election Board. The Election Ordinance does no such thing, in fact it requires that the Election Board be appointed by resolution of the Tribal Council. But Worman and Barker were appointed to the Election Board by General Manager Brenda Bremner in October 2007, in direct violation of that law. They either don't care enough about our law to know it, or they don't care about breaking it. In November they were again appointed illegally to the Election Board, this time by the Tribal Council which appointed them to the Election Board for a term ending in June 2009, directly violating the Election Ordinance which requires a term of 1 year.

The relationship between the Election Board and Brenda Bremner has been especially troubling. In October Tracey Worman told me several times that Brenda Bremner was overseeing the Election Board, and that they would go to her first with questions about their duties. This was utterly inappropriate since the General Manager has no legitimate legal role in our elections. But the Election Board has considered Bremner their boss, a fact Worman confirmed in at the General Council Meeting when she admitted they would consult Bremner first on matters of policy.

Just before the 2007 General Election, Tina Retasket was removed from the Election Board because she was caught campaigning for Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley and Vice-Chairman Bud Lane. Chairman Pigsley whitewashed the incident by failing to disclose that the Election Board member removed was in fact then Assistant General Manager Retasket. Pigsley also failed to disclose that Retasket had been campaigning for Dee Pigsley and Bud Lane. Brenda Bremner told me that she asked Tina to resign and Tina did.

But since Retasket is a political ally of Chairman Pigsley, Vice-Chairman Lane, and General Manager Bremner, there was no paper trail – there is no written record of Retasket's removal from the Election Board, although the Election Board has the resignations of other members on file. This apparently does not seem irregular to Worman and Barker.

In October of 2007 the Tribal Council illegally ducked their responsibility to appoint the Election Board and passed a resolution to have Brenda Bremner appoint the Election Board. The reason given for authorizing this was that some of the Election Board members recently appointed by the Tribal Council had resigned, including Tracey Worman and Kurtis Barker. They resigned because they were not being paid for their Election Board duties. Bremner re-appointed Worman and Barker and initiated a policy of paying tribal staff members for their Election Board duties. This was in direct violation of our Election Ordinance at the time which required that Election Board members serve without pay. The ordinance was changed in September 2008 to allow staff members to be paid, but during our last three tribal elections Election Board members were paid in violation of our law.

Bremner also took the astonishing step of re-appointing Tina Retasket to the Election Board, even though she had asked for Retasket's resignation that same year when Retasket was caught campaigning for Pigsley and Lane. And it's worse than that – Brenda Bremner told me that she appointed Tina to serve only for the referendum election in December 2007, since Retasket planned to run for General Council. Our law forbids anyone from serving on the Election Board if they plan to run for office during the coming year. Worman has stated that Retasket worked only on the referendum election. Why would that be, if Retasket was appointed for a year like all the other Election Board members? Clearly because it was known Retasket would run. And Retasket did run and win, even though she sat on the Election Board for more than a month after the other candidates had declared.

We need to clean up our elections.

There is much more I need to address as a candidate but the Election Board has now imposed a word limit on what you can be allowed to hear in these statements. You can read the rest of what I have to say on Siletz.Net.

----

I sent the above statement at 12:53 AM, Dec 24. Election Board Chairman Tracey Worman confirmed that she received the statement at 8:12 AM the same day. Later that day, Election Board member Kurtis Barker sent out the following email. He didn't specify what he thought was a personal attack.

From: Kurtis Barker
Date: Wed, Dec 24, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: Lynette Warren 2009 Candidate Statement
To: Lynette Warren
Cc: Tracey Worman

Lynette,
Your Candidates Statement "as is" below will not be approved by the Election Board.
It violates the following rule: "Candidates Statements shall not include personal attacks on individuals."
This rule was approved by Tribal Council November 8th, 2008 with Resolution No. 2008-424.

You have three options:
1. Revise your statement and have it to the Election Board by 4pm today.
2. We can approve the last 2 paragraphs. The paragraph stating "We need to clean up our elections" and the paragraph that follows. (Let us know if you want this by 4pm today)
4. You could withdraw your whole candidates statement from the Voters Pamphlet.

If your statement is not re-submitted by 4pm today, it will not be included in the Voters Pamphlet.

As a friendly reminder- you have until 4pm today to submit a photo for the Voters Pamphlet and ballot, and you have until 4pm December 29th to withdraw your candidacy and not be included in the Voters Pamphlet.

If you have any questions, please let Tracey or I know.
Kurtis Barker
Election Board

Candidates statement (Election Board only allowed 750 words)

I will listen, and I will ask, and I will act.

NO: Golf Course Expansion
NO: 8.765 Million Clinic Construction
NO: Operating Tribal/Gaming enterprises like a government
NO: Illegal or unethical access to personal/medical/criminal records
NO: Free Payday – Instead vocational-cognitive work opportunities
NO: Outsourcing of Law Enforcement – when we have trained Tribal members

• YES: Reform government
• YES: Shareholder meetings.
• YES: Defend civil rights of members
• YES: Put integrity back into the election process
• YES: I will defend the rights of all Tribal members
• YES: Protect members rights to freedom and privacy
• YES: Improve/fund educational opportunities for members
• YES: Open Tribal member forum for discussion/questions
• YES: Separation of powers – no more Tribal Council – “Boss of Everything”
• YES: Work for healthy, safe, economically secure communities for Tribal members
• YES: Increase Per Capita – by decreasing waste/misuse of Tribal/Gaming funding
• YES: Increase funding for prevention and treatment as a means to decrease expenses related to recidivism or chronic health problems
• YES: Openly audit tribal spending to ensure gaming/program funding/opportunities are efficiently/effectively and FAIRLY administered/available.
• YES: Expand technical/vocational training so members can find a job/gain access to training materials/knowledge obtained by a select few, on a repeated basis.
• YES: Use teleconference meeting technology – decrease expense/loss of time

[2nd page]

The practice of taking and taking, from gaming revenue to funding projects i.e., Golf course expansion, Clinic construction, are not viable business decisions. Gaming revenue belongs to ALL members, and these decisions should be made by ALL members!

I will aggressively advocate for members being legally recognized shareholders of gaming/Tribal enterprises. We’re not alone in outcomes we’ve experienced, where losses have occurred. There are tribes with successful casinos still in poverty. It will take time and education, in money management, to break this cycle. Keeping actions SECRET isn’t respectful to members. TRIBAL MEMBERS MATTER and deserve to have a vote, and voice in affairs related to financial resources!

There exists for several states, legislation referred to as: “right to know”, i.e., “government should be open, accessible, accountable, and responsive”. To that end, it’s a process to ensure the public's right of access, and governmental proceedings/records not being unreasonably restricted.

Advances in technology support this requirement, providing a process to allow Tribal administration and elected officials the opportunity, to excessively decrease money expended on travel (hotel, $0.585 per mile, salary, GSA/Company vehicle maintenance] for Tribal/Gaming employees who attend meetings. The technology also records meeting content, for members who are at large, and wish to be party to the matters discussed.

The Tribe has adequate resources [$570,197.00 budgeted (2007)] to perform Virtual meetings, that will allow an open government to flow more freely. It’s long over due for this “priority” to remain an unaccomplished goal.

I’ll work to negotiate/revisit the NEW clinic building plan. 8.765 Million dollars is unacceptable, when there are alternatives, such as modular, or partnering with other agencies. I serve on the Health Committee, and I’ve listened to members medical procedures being deferred, when $3,395,611, plus $1,831,006 in “3rd Party Collections funds have been earmarked - to build the NEW clinic building. I believe a portion of this money should go to pay for medical needs of members NOW - Instead of a new building.

We’re not alone, in having to make hard decisions when it seems there is not enough money to go around. California state officials have had to take steps to halt funding for public work projects as well. Bill Lockyer, California State Treasurers’ comment sums it up: "You can't spend money that you don't have."

Funding prevention and treatment/direct services for Tribal members assists them to become economically self sufficient, it provides a process to address barriers that have prevented them from attaining success in many areas of their lives. Some barriers are due to health, legal matters, or learning disabilities.

The bottom line is that we need effective programs/staff, to provide services. At the same time, we need in depth review of programs/staffing [By an objective unbiased Efficiency Consultant] to ensure we’re not wasting our resources/funding.

The most valuable asset we have is our members. Especially the people at our gaming facility, as they are the Money Makers. It’s time to honor them, and treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve.

I can assure you, I’ll take that task to heart. The quality of a Tribal Members’ life is worth more than an expanded golf course or new clinic.

Lisa Brown, CPS
PO Box 586, Siletz, OR 97380
www.allnativecreations.com
nadosh2@yahoo.com

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.

Yesterday, November 13th 2008, I visited our tribal offices in order to see our election records. I asked our Election Board Chairman Tracey Worman for the Election Board minutes. I also asked to see the signed oaths of office for Election Board members from the past few years. Our Election Ordinance says:

"Upon accepting the appointment, each member shall sign an oath which shall become part of the election records stating that he or she will serve according to the best of his or her ability and shall make every effort to prevent fraud or abuse of the election process."

I also asked to see any written records of resignations from the Election Board.

Tracey Worman informed me that I needed to submit any such requests in writing to Craig Dorsay, the tribe's lawyer.

Over the past few weeks I have asked most of the Tribal Council members about access to Election Board minutes. I asked Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley and Vice-Chairman Bud Lane, as well as Tribal Council members Tina Retasket, Lillie Butler, Lorraine Butler, and Jesse Davis. Without exception, they each told me that they knew of no reason why tribal members should not be able to see the minutes of the Election Board.

The integrity of our elections is vital to the welfare of our tribe. Tribal members can only verify the integrity of our elections by examining our election records. Our election processes should be transparent, there is no excuse for keeping such records secret from tribal members.

Unfortunately, our Election Board is now adopting the posture of a criminal defendant: You want records? Talk to our lawyers!

Tina Retasket

Dee Pigsley

Bud Lane

Robert Kentta

Tina Retasket departed from the Election Board in early 2007 because of the ethical scandal associated with the campaign letter shown below. Read the rest of this article »

Tina Retasket and Brenda Bremner
As a consequence of my recent presentation at the General Council Meeting, there was a Special Tribal Council Meeting today to consider appointments to the Election Board. The Tribal Council voted to re-appoint Kurtis Barker and Tracey Worman to the Election Board, as well as Felicia Carmona.

I gave the following presentation to the Tribal Council, just before they voted:

---

I'm here today to address growing ethical problems with the Election Board. I intend to explain why our General Manager Brenda Bremner is ethically unfit to recommend appointments to the Election Board and why Kurtis Barker and Tracey Worman are unfit to serve.

In late 2007 Brenda Bremner and Tina Retasket conspired to break our elections laws, apparently with the tacit approval of the Tribal Council.

The Election ordinance states: “Election Board members shall each serve for one year from the date of appointment and may be removed only for cause.”

And it says that no person shall be appointed who “plans to be a candidate or who has an immediate family member or resident of the household who plans to be candidate in any election during his or her term of service.”

This was our law in 2007 and it remains our law today. The ordinance clearly states that no person shall be appointed who plans to be a candidate for tribal office in ANY election during their term, and it clearly defines that term as one year.

But Brenda Bremner appointed Tina Retasket to the Election Board in October 2007, and Tina accepted that appointment, even though both knew very well that Tina planned to run for Tribal Council just two months later.

I spoke with Brenda Bremner two days ago, on November 6th. She told me that Tina had only been appointed to the Election Board for the duration of the referendum election which was held on December 8th, 2007. Brenda told me that she gave Tribal Council a memo which explained that Tina would only serve on the Election Board through the referendum because Tina planned to run for Tribal Council.

Our Constitution says that Election Board members must serve set terms of office and our Election Ordinance defines that term as one year. There is nothing in our laws that authorizes Brenda to redefine that term of office.

So even though Brenda sought to create a term tailor-made to accommodate Tina's campaign for Tribal Council, Tina's term was legally one year, a year in which both Tina and Brenda knew perfectly well that Tina would run for Tribal Council.

Again, the Election Ordinance clearly states that no person shall be appointed who plans to be a candidate in ANY election during their term of office.

Brenda and Tina both knew the law. But they violated the law in order to get Tina on the Election Board and still accommodate Tina's campaign for Tribal Council. This is punishable by up to 6 months in prison or a fine of up to $5000, or both.

Tina was sitting on the Election Board at a time when it was already engaged in it's duties supervising the 2008 General Election - the very election in which Tina planned to run.

Our campaign for that election began on November 3rd, 2007, at the General Council Meeting. Robert Kentta, Lorraine Butler, Cynthia Farlow, Lisa Brown, Eva Clayton and I declared our candidacies that day. Tina Retasket did not declare her candidacy then because she was still on the Election Board. And Tina was still on the Election Board a month later - a full month into the campaign for Tribal Council. Obviously it is unethical for a candidate to sit on the Election Board during a campaign in which she intends to run. That's why we have laws against it. The result was that Tina won a seat on the Tribal Council, edging out Lisa Brown by only 29 votes. Of course, Lisa Brown did not have the advantage of sitting on the Election Board during the campaign.

The ethical problems with Brenda's appointment of Tina run much deeper. Earlier that same year Tina had departed from the Election Board due to an ethical scandal. When we spoke two days ago, Brenda told me that she, herself, had asked Tina for her resignation at that time, and that Tina had agreed. I asked why Brenda had called for Tina's resignation. Brenda said: “There was the appearance of a conflict because she wrote a letter and sent it out “

Brenda also said that the letter had endorsed certain candidates.

We know that those ”certain candidates”were in fact Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley and Vice-Chairman Bud Lane.

Brenda told me Tina wrote and sent out the letter. This the same thing Chairman Dee Pigsley told the General Council in February 2007, although Dee failed to name Tina and she failed to disclose that Tina had been campaigning for Dee Pigsley and Bud Lane in the letter.

Brenda told me that she did not know if Tina had actually done anything unethical, but that Brenda had asked Tina to resign because of the appearance of unethical conduct.

I hardly know what to say about someone who claims not to know if it is unethical for an Election Board member to be campaigning for the Tribal Chairman and Vice-Chairman during an election she is supposed to be supervising fairly.

I can only say that such a demonstrated lack of an ethical compass should disqualify Brenda Bremner from any further involvement in our election process. Given all of this, the Tribal Council should never again consider her recommendations for Election Board appointments.

Today Brenda is recommending that Kurtis Barker and Tracy Worman be re-appointed. I will now present further reasons why these two individuals are unfit to serve.

I spoke with Tracey recently. I was astonished to hear her say that Brenda oversees the Election Board. She repeated this several times. She told me, for instance, that if the Election Board had an issue with a candidate's statement they would first contact the candidate to try to clear up any problems, then they would consult Brenda and then the Tribal Council if necessary. I asked another question about Election Board policy and Tracey told me she would have to ask Brenda, and that Brenda was away for a few days.

The problem here is that Brenda has no legitimate authority whatsoever over Election Board policies and decisions. It is an egregious violation of fair election practices for Brenda to be running our Election Board. I asked Jessie Davis about this and she told me “it would not be kosher” for Brenda to be overseeing the Election Board on such matters. Lillie Butler told me much the same thing.

But at the General Council meeting last week, right in front of the Tribal Council, Tracey confirmed that the Election Board would consult with Brenda first on matters of election policy. They don't see anything wrong with that.

On page 4 of the November issue of Siletz News there is an article by Kurtis Barker which states: "The Election Board now will be responsible for accepting and approving all candidate's statements. We have chosen to adopt many of the rules that govern statements in Siletz News. Statements will be limited to 450 words and not contain any personal attacks. One photo (optional) can be accepted with statements. Candidate's statements cannot be posted on Tribal property."

On the other hand, the Election Ordinance clearly says that the Election Board may propose rules regarding candidates statements, but the Tribal Council must review and approve such rules.

Tribal Council members Lillie Butler and Jessie Davis have both confirmed to me that the Tribal Council has not reviewed or approved the rules that Kurtis has attempted to impose on candidates. This article was of course published in our tribal newspaper by Brenda .

It is unlawful for the Election Board to impose rules that have not been reviewed and adopted by the Tribal Council. And it is utterly inappropriate for Brenda to be publishing such illegal pronouncements.

But it's hardly surprising that an Election Board which thinks it is supervised by Brenda is trying to impose the rules of the newspaper which Brenda runs, rules which she has used to reject or heavily censor my letters when I've criticized the Tribal Council.

Both Kurtis and Tracey confirmed to me that suppressing criticism of the Tribal Council was indeed a purpose of the new rules. Kurtis Barker put it most bluntly when he said: “We want articles that state why you want to be on Tribal Council, not like an attack mode where you candidates can blame the Tribal Council for what's going on. “

Brenda 's policy of political censorship of letters to the Siletz News is being extended into our election process with this power grab to control candidates' statements. Brenda is clearly orchestrating our newspaper and our Election Board in concert to muzzle political opponents of the Tribal Council. And Kurtis and Tracey have attempted to impose these rules unilaterally, without the approval of the Tribal Council, which our law requires.

For these reasons, Kurtis Barker and Tracey Worman are unfit to serve on the Election Board. Tribal Council should not re-appoint them.

If you do re-appoint these two to the Election Board, I want to be put on the agenda for the next Tribal Council meeting where I will present additional evidence of more violations of the election ordinance by Brenda Bremner, Tracey Worman, and Kurtis Barker. Also, expect to see me back in Siletz on election day explaining to the General Council why these two are unfit to serve on the Election Board and how Brenda Bremner is using them to corrupt our election process.

Lynette Warren
November 8th, 2008

---

note:

I spoke with Brenda Bremner two days ago, on November 6th. She told me that Tina had only been appointed to the Election Board for the duration of the referendum election which was held on December 8th, 2007. Brenda told me that she gave Tribal Council a memo which explained that Tina would only serve on the Election Board through the referendum because Tina planned to run for Tribal Council.

Even though Brenda told me this just two days ago on the phone, Brenda now denies knowing that Tina planned to be a candidate at the time of Tina's nomination to the Election Board in October 2007.

At this afternoon's Special Tribal Council Meeting, Tina also wouldn't admit that she planned to run for Tribal Council during the time she served on the Election Board for the pay raise referendum last year.