By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On Friday, March 1, the Greg Williams court was transformed into a public forum in order to showcase enthusiastic candidates running for the two Board of Director seats up for grabs at the upcoming General Council election.
An estimated 50 Tulalip citizens were in attendance, sitting tolerantly in the spacious setting, while another 60 or so households tuned in from the comfort of home while livestreaming on iAmTulalip.com.
Three in-person audience members, each representing a different generation of life experience, were willing to participate in a pre and post forum dialogue to help us better understand why they attended, what they hoped to learn, and, generally, how the forum informed their voting practice, if any. Representing the Baby Boomers was elder Lena Hammons. Representing Generation X was Deborah Parker, a former tribal councilmember and current chief executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Representing Generation Z was Youth Council chairwoman Faith Valencia.
“I’m here to learn who I would vote for, but also I’m attending to learn more about dynamics of how these forums go, like what exactly happens here. I’m hoping to hear topics discussed that prioritize the youth or ideas to support the youth or at least something about the seven generations teaching to show those seeking a Board seat aren’t focused just on the present and themselves,” said Faith.
“I always come to the Candidate’s Forum, but why I thought it was even more important to attend this year’s is the fact so many young people are running. The potential for having two brand new Board members who would represent a younger generation really interested me. I’m curious to hear what their ideas are and what teachings they are coming from. One of the most pressing concerns I feel the Tribe faces is the ongoing drug epidemic, so I’m hoping to learn that it’s on the candidate’s radar,” shared Lena.
“I’m here with my young nephew, Zeus Parker Jr., who will be voting for the first time at General Council. I thought it was important to come here with him and introduce him to the candidates and further his understanding of what the community is about,” offered Deborah. “For me, economic development is always important, so ideally I’d like to hear the candidates speak to their ideas for growing and diversifying our revenue stream beyond gaming. I’d like to see if someone here is creative with their ideas for new business.”
The 2024 Candidate Forum was designed to be a public event where candidates running for tribal council are invited to express their positions on a variety of subjects and introduce themselves to the community, if so desired. In the most ideal sense, the forum was to provide a stage for each candidate to share their platforms, policies, and visions for the future. Such a forum would then help voters become informed about where each candidate stood on various issues, enabling them to make educated choices when voting at General Council on March 15.
Spanning over two hours while being respectfully moderated by Hibulb Cultural Center manager Mytyl Hernandez, the participating candidates at this year’s forum shed some light on what impact they intend to make, if elected. Topics discussed included communication style, general welfare increases, lost teachings, the drug epidemic, holding fellow Board members accountable, building trust within the community, treaty rights experience, minor trust accounts, and more.
Following the event’s conclusion, the generational representatives shared their experience, specifically detailing whether or not they learned what they hoped to.
“I would have preferred that each candidate got to delve more into their thoughts on our drug epidemic, but for the ones who did have the chance to speak on it, you could tell how passionate they were because this is something that impacts us all,” said elder Lena. “Something that stood out tonight is there are candidates who need to know much more about our treaty and what it means to exercise our treaty rights if they hope to be in a leadership position, like a Board seat, one day. That being said, I am excited for the younger ones who have stepped up and are willing to lead and wish them all luck on March 16.”
Our Youth Council chairwoman, Faith, was really hoping to hear candidates speak to the youth vote and their ideas for supporting the ever-growing youth demographic. Did she hear that? “Not necessarily. They kind of tried to give us recognition,” described the young leader. “I asked a couple questions, and neither was answered directly. So hopefully we, as a Youth Council, can get them to offer more clear and direct answers when we get a chance to sit with them next week.
“It’s important for the youth vote to be taken seriously and in order for that to happen we need to show up at events like these,” she added. “It’s disappointing not to see more younger people, and look I get it. It’s easy to understand that they’ve probably showed up to something like this before and witnessed only arguing or non-answers with no real solution. But in order for our voices to matter we have to show up and vote for people willing to [factor us in] their decision making.”
Lastly, Gen X’er Deb Parker offered her takeaway. “I don’t think the candidates had enough time to really answer questions I had regarding economic development. Some questions were answered, but overall, I think reading their candidate statements that were mailed out and making use of social media to see their recent posts and ask further questions will be necessary to fill in the gaps. It’s not realistic to expect each candidate to know everything about all topics that single individuals may have questions about. It was clear that each candidate has their own knowledge base that they are bringing to the table and has their own idea as to what they think are the most pressing concerns right now.
“This event showed how beautiful and healthy our community can be when potential leaders, current leaders, and past leaders are able to share space while being patient, listening to one another, and respecting opinions that may defer from their own. This isn’t something you see in other places where candidates are typically interrupting and yelling over one another to get their point across. This makes me proud to be Tulalip to witness how we continue to love and respect one another in this process.”
In-person voting for the two open Board of Director seats will take place over a two-day period, Friday March 15 (9am-4pm) and Saturday March 16 (7am-1pm), at the Tulalip Resort Casino.