I Got a Name

I presently sit as the Tribe’s delegate to the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments. In order to save some breath we generally refer to the body as COG, pronounced the way you would expect. The COG has been going strong for more than 50 years now. Its main function, really, is providing a chance for all the local governments—cities, towns, counties, school districts, tribes—to net work with one another. You never know what partnerships are out there. The COG also provides help to these bodies, like grants or consulting services, but those usually go to the governments that are more strapped for cash than others. The dues that each body pays depends on population. Grand Ronde’s is one of the lowest.
Not only am I the delegate but now my position includes that of Chair of the Executive Board. Last year I was Vice-Chair. Four of us rotate the position. Next year I will be a regular old board member.
Networking is important with so many disparate governments clustered together in the Willamette Valley. The various jurisdictions have a lot to offer one another, like help in projects, letters of support for eachother when asking for further funding, etc. Overall, I enjoy working with the COG, even though the Tribe probably doesn’t benefit from the Council the way it might have during the “poor” days, prior to Spirit Mountain Casino. The only thing I never really get used to is that there appears to be a visible age difference between not only me and the rest of the Executive Board, but the whole Council of Governments. I still get remarks about my “youth”, as if doing what I am doing at 32 is some sort of precedent. A couple of people still act as if they don’t quite know how to interact with me, the perceived generation gap possibly meaning I speak a different language.
At our last meeting in December, we had a guest speaker. He was from the League of Oregon Cities, and his topic was one that ended up being more fascinating as his presentation continued. That topic was recalls, and the focus was throughout Oregon over the years.
What I learned is that recalls are quite common within small communities. Willamina recalled its mayor a few years back. The city of Tualatin, if I remember correctly, recalled their own mayor two months ago. Carlton, a town only seven miles from where I live, just engaged in a failed recall effort on its mayor, a very smart woman who happens to be one of the other three people who sits on the COG Executive Board with me.
I asked our speaker about recalls in tribes. Everybody laughs as the only instant he can refer to was in Grand Ronde. Evidently he had been out at the Tribe some years ago and remembered a sign or booth being set up, might have been during pow wow. I chuckle because I am pretty sure I remember which one he is talking about.
Recalls, I learn, seldom succeed. A lot of that is because the rules for actually successfully making a recall happen are pretty tight. In addition, recalls cost money, and distract people. Ironically though, on some levels the recalls do succeed. Recalls are often one chapter of what is essentially political warfare being waged on an individual or group of people. Although I don’t remember the percentages off-hand, quite a few targets of recalls sometimes resign or don’t seek another term. The targets usually just get sick of the constant harassment, bullying, and/or bickering and give up entirely. The intent of the recall, to get rid of a public official, holds true.
I can remember when the recall effort was launched against my fellow COG Board member. It was emotionally draining for her, not to mention stressful. Above all it was personal, because there was nothing that I know of that she did within the course of her job which merited a recall. She is a person, with a name and life, same as anybody else.
When I think back on what happened during my swearing-in ceremony in September, and how much that angered me, questions start forming in my mind as to what else might be in store for me over the next three years. I often reflect on what Ed Pearsall had to endure his final 18 months. Not only did he have a recall effort launched against him, but there were a handful of Tribal members who looked to have made a hobby of harassing him, and heck that was just non-Council people. If ever there was a public effort to make somebody in Grand Ronde miserable, it was what was done to poor Ed back in 2002 and 2003. Often, this effort looked so scripted as well.
It takes a certain type to do this job. I would have a hard time giving up, as some people did according to the recall study. But there is no doubt that doing this job will age me somewhat.
Maybe if flecks of grey start appearing in my beard, and wrinkles upon my brow, the “young” comments will cease.