Action paves way for the May 21 General Election.

The Election Board of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians last week certified results of the tribe’s April 9 Primary Election, paving the way for a General Election on May 21.

The primary narrowed a field of candidates for the Tribal Chairman’s seat from three to two, and a field of 20 candidates running for three seats on the Tribal Council to six.

A vote certification process that took more than three weeks to complete resulted in the Election Board releasing the same slate of candidates garnering the same number of votes as shown in unofficial results reported immediately following the April 9 Primary.

In the Tribal Chairman’s race, incumbent Robert Kewaygoshkum garnered the most votes, 224. Also advancing with 199 votes was incumbent Tribal Councilor Derek Bailey. A former Tribal Councilor running for the Tribal Chairman’s seat, Thurlow “Sam” McClellan, lost his bid with 185 votes.

Two incumbent Tribal Councilors running for re-election won the most votes in the 20-way race on April 9: David Arroyo and Sandra Witherspoon. Brian Napont took third, followed by Thomas Peters, Suzanne McSawby and Steven Feringa.

Voter turnout in the Primary was nearly 53 percent, with 457 tribal voters casting ballots at three polling places or as absentees. Although tribal membership numbers around 4,000, only adults residing in the tribe’s six-county service area in northwestern lower Michigan are eligible to vote in tribal elections.

The GTB Tribal Council controls the largest government operation in Leelanau County, with an annual budget of more than $50 million. In addition, the Tribal Council comprises the board of the tribe’s Economic Development Corporation. The tribe is the largest single employer in Leelanau County and one of the largest in the entire Traverse Bay area, with a total gross payroll of some $23 million and annual gross revenues of more than $100 million.

Although tribal Election Board chairman Sam Evans declined to provide comment on why it took more than three weeks to certify the election, minutes of an April 21 Election Board hearing obtained by the Enterprise may provide some insight.

The hearing addressed concerns raised by tribal member Richard Yannott who alleged that some eligible tribal members were prevented from registering to vote, that some candidates had engaged in improper campaign practices, that some “slanderous” campaign materials had been distributed, and that there were “rumors” of candidates “buying votes” during the election.

A report of the April 21 hearing, signed by Evans and election board secretary KaryAnn Waukazoo, indicated that Yannott’s allegations were unsubstantiated and that he had not met a burden of proof sufficient for the Election Board to take any action.

Evans subsequently announced on Friday that the board certified the election on May 1.

The deadline for tribal members to register to vote in the May 21 Regular Election is Wednesday, May 14.