The elections just now ending for registered members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Voters went to the polls Friday to select a new tribal chairman and two new members of the Southern Ute Tribal Council.
“I haven’t seen the numbers for how many registered voters we have,” said Andrea Taylor, director of information services for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
Taylor said the tribe won’t release results until they are official. The election board will present them to the Tribal Council on Nov. 12.
Three candidates threw their hats in the ring for the chairman slot, including current Chairman Clement J. Frost, who has held the position since May after a special election, when he won 130 votes out of the 394 cast.
The election was held after the death of Tribal Chairman Jimmy Newton Jr. Frost had served as tribal chairman twice before, from 1997 to 2000 and 2005 to 2008.
Also on the ballot for chairman were Jocelyn Peabody Dutchie, who came in second in the special election in May and was previously on the council; and Bernie Cuthair, who is seeking his first seat on the council.
The three candidates attended a Meet the Candidates event at the Sky Ute Casino Resort on Oct. 30, where, according to the Southern Ute Drum, each presented their views on different topics confronting the tribe, including rebuilding its human resources department, hiring tribal members who have earned degrees in needed skills and reaching out to youth-at-risk.
Voters chose two council members from a field of eight, with the top two vote-getters filling the slots. Those candidates are:
Aaron V. Torres
Amy J. Barry
Pathimi M. GoodTracks
Renee J. Cloud
Janelle F. Doughty
Tyson Thompson
David Latham
Andrew C. Frost
abutler@durangoherald.com
