And then what?

I could hear their voices from my desk. At the time, I was simply trying to organize my office, which some days seems like one of those tasks that never ends. As I strolled out of the office to deposit some empty interoffice envelopes near the desk of our secretary, the voices died down, and all their heads glanced nervously in my direction. Huddled together, in between the three of them was a folder that I casually peered at, and noticed a white sheet of paper with a purple and yellow letterhead. As they quickly nodded their approval in unison, one closed the folder. They all retreated from one another, each walking away with a business-like posture, as if all had been given an assignment and understood their mission.
What was really obvious was that these three individuals clearly did not want me to hear their discussion, much less see that ever-important document they almost seemed to guard with their lives. I chuckled to myself, because there was an element of silliness to it all, the espionage, the subterfuge, the lowered voices and cautious rubbernecking. “Oh, no! Here comes Chris. We’ve all got our cyanide tablets, right?”
I guess you had to be there to appreciate the moment. One doesn’t have to be a genius to understand that there was a little bit of campaign action going on in that huddle, and like any game, war, or any sort of competition with high stakes, you don’t show your hand too early, least of all to the opposition. This day, and this scenario, that opposition was me.
Of course the three people I am writing about now aren’t employees. Nor were they committee members or visitors wanting a glimpse of the Tribe’s leaders at work. They were, and still are, fellow Council members. Between now and the weekend after Labor Day, they have one common, clear and very simple goal: make sure the candidates they support get elected, one of them presumably to replace me.
I am not asking for sympathy in writing this particular posting. How could I, myself having run for Tribal Council three times, each and every time the sole intent to replace somebody who was there? Indeed it would be awfully hypocritical of me to blast anybody for doing what I myself have done. But for some reason this year, and maybe it’s because this time around I am the incumbent, my feelings are a little bit different. I find myself wanting to ask those three individuals who hope to oust me this summer “Okay, let’s suppose you do succeed. And then what?”
To be really honest, I’m not sure they would have an answer. The most immediate changes I would foresee wouldn’t be changes at all. The Chair and Vice-Chair of two years ago would likely resume their former seats. Other than that, I’m not really sure what would change. That is the sad part.
When I was elected three years ago, along with Angie Blackwell and Wesley “Buddy” West, things changed. The way people ran campaigns changed. The face of Tribal government changed. A lot changed. But what changed the most was the way people voted. Grand Ronde’s political spectrum turned very partisan. We replaced some very well-liked and longstanding Council members. I’ve seen us labeled the “new” Council, and the others the “old” Council, or old guard. Us newbies stood for better communication, ethics, and in the context of 2007, the ever-neglected yet oft-acknowledged enrollment/membership requirements dilemma. The old, from what I can tell, stood for “it ain’t broken, so it don’t need fixin’” philosophy, meaning things in the Tribe were fine before.
Well we all know things needed plenty of fixin’ back in 2004, just as there is plenty that needs to be addressed even in 2007, in spite of some of the things we’ve “fixed”. What I am really curious to see, though, is whether that will matter as this year’s Tribal Council election approaches.
Some people near and dear to my heart have said in one form or another they hope I don’t run for re-election. And if I do, they hope I don’t get re-elected. There is no malice in their reasons why, they just don’t like to see me get beat up all the time, even though we all know that comes with the territory. One has said that at 31 years old, I’m doing a job that will age me prematurely. They, like me, anticipate some new lows with this year’s election, since the goal of at least one politically active group of Tribal members is to simply oust me and two others, and who replaces us is largely irrelevant to our opposition. It will be very reminiscent of the 2004 presidential elections, when the battle-cry for half the country was “anybody but Bush”.
Of course none of this will effect my decision to run. I plan to. But I still hope that this year’s election doesn’t turn out to be as nasty as some think. Furthermore, I wish that certain issues, namely the Constitutional amendment on enrollment and membership requirements, don’t get bogged down in partisan bickering and become a casualty of the election. I hope that one camp simply doesn't oppose a good idea just because the opposing side proposed it.
One of the opposing Council members has a habit, not a good one. When this person actually shows up, they usually read the newspaper cover-to-cover or do the crossword puzzle during our work sessions, regardless of whether staff are present or not, regardless of whether their participation is needed in the meeting or not. This might be their subtle way of indicating contempt for me as Chair. Or it might be one way of biding time, pretty confident that within three months I and two others will be gone.
Whatever their reasoning, there really isn’t any good reason for this type of behavior. If this has even been the norm, and I can't help but consider that a possibility, then the change we’ve brought, whether some people agree or not, was so sorely needed.