Navajo Man Contests Election to Cut Tribal Council

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley courtesy AP

FLAGSTAFF (AP) — A Navajo tribal member is pushing to have an election that drastically reduced the size of the Tribal Council redone, this time with more support required from voters.

The election marked the first time Navajos voted on ballot initiatives. Voters overwhelmingly favored cutting the council from 88 members to 24 and giving the president a line-item veto.

But Tim Nelson of Leupp contends the Dec. 15 election violated Navajo law in that the initiatives passed without a majority vote in each of the tribe’s 110 precincts.

Nelson has filed a grievance against Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr.’s office and the petitioners. A spokesman for Shirley disputed the claims and says the grievance should instead be directed at the tribe’s election office.

It is scheduled to be heard Jan. 21 in Window Rock.