Secretary-Treasurer re-elected; no opponent
CPN Election 2010 features five races
Download the Election Committee's Candidate Certification
On Saturday, June 26, 2010, Citizen Potawatomi Nation voters will elect a Tribal Vice Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer, and four (4) members of the Tribal Legislature. Legislators in Districts #5, 6, #7, and #8 will be elected to new four-year terms, as will the Vice Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer. The incumbents in the positions that will be on the 2010 ballot are: Linda Capps (Tribal Vice Chairman), D. Wayne Trousdale (Secretary-Treasurer), Gene Lambert (District #5), Ron Goyer (District #6), Thom Finks (District #7), and Dave Carney (District #8). With the exception of Goyer, all of these incumbents are seeking re-election.
Secretary-Treasurer Trousdale has no opponent.
The candidates who posted a $150 filing fee to challenge the incumbents or seek election to an open seat are: Alan Dean Becker, 49, of Drumright, Oklahoma (Vice Chairman); Michael Stephen Carter, 27, of Phoenix, Arizona (District #5); Rande Kern Payne, 53, of Visalia, California and Charles Michael Goyer, 54, of Similax, California (District #6); Mark Alan Johnson, 49, of Prather, California and Jeanine Roshelle Gaines, 25, of Sacramento, California (District #7); and Clyde Bruce Slavin, of Vancouver, Washington (District #8).
Candidates for Tribal Vice Chairman amd Secretary-Treasurer must be at least 35 years old by Election Day – June 26, 2010 and must have lived in Oklahoma for at least six months before Election Day. Candidates for the legislative seats must be at least 18 years old by Election Day. Additionally, they must have resided in the district from which they are elected for six months on Election Day.
The June election ballot will also contain the annual budget for spending interest and earnings from the Nation’s set-side funds. Thus, all eligible CPN voters will participate in this election.
A Ballot Request Period will begin on February 15, 2010 and end on June 6, 2010. There will be in-person voting from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at the courtroom in the CPN administration building, 1601 S. Gordon Cooper Dr., Shawnee, OK 74801 for all six positions.
The tribal government will mail Absentee Request Forms to all members who will be eligible to vote in the 2010 election. Voters who wish to cast absentee ballots can obtain an absentee ballot by mailing back the postage-paid ballot request form that will be mailed to them, filling it in, and mailing it to Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Election Committee, P.O. Box 310, Tecumseh, OK 74873.
If a voter obtains an Absentee Ballot then decides to vote in person, he can exchange the Absentee Ballot for an in-person ballot on June 26, 2010 at the polling place.
Voters should remember that the Ballot Request Form must be postmarked no later than June 6, 2010. Voted absentee ballots must arrive in the Election Committee’s post office box in Tecumseh, Oklahoma no later than 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 26, 2010.