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The Sipayik Tribal Council has voted to indefinitely suspend Passamaquoddy Chief Fred Moore III from his administrative duties and responsibilities, three weeks after Moore had suspended Vice Chief Vera Francis from her duties. The council also restored Francis' powers as vice chief and is now recognizing the vice chief to carry out the chief's duties in his absence, although Moore is still the elected chief. Moore, though, says that the actions taken by the council are in violation of the tribal constitution and therefore not legal.
At an October 5 council meeting, the councillors present voted 4-0 to suspend Moore without pay. Councillors at the meeting were Madonna Soctomah, Philip Farrell Jr., Marla Dana and John Dana, and the meeting was chaired by Vice Chief Francis, in the absence of Chief Moore. Councillors Darren Paul and Newell Lewey also did not attend the meeting.
Moore says he will be seeking judicial review of the council's decision. "There are several problems with their actions," he says. "The tribal constitution has been trampled upon every step of the way by these folks. Their actions are not valid."
However, Soctomah states of Moore's suspension, "The action was taken at a duly called meeting by the council members, after reviewing his actions under his administration, which were of great concern," since they affect tribal resources. She says that actions taken during Moore's administration will be under federal investigation and that those actions gave the council the authority to suspend him. While declining to be specific, she says they would be of concern to the public "if they had all of the information." Soctomah adds that there is too much conflict at present within the tribe, and one of the council's functions "is to subdue conflict in the community."
Soctomah has previously expressed concern about the tribal government's budget, since councillors were given only a page and a half of budget information, with no mention of different sources of income such as the Oxford Casino funds, the tribe's blueberry company revenues or the carbon credit money. Some councillors were also concerned that Moore had taken greater authority than was authorized from a motion that the council had approved in March for the relocation of the tribal government employees and programs, with the anticipated demolition of the tribal office building to make space for a new school building. During the past few months Moore has merged some tribal departments and moved them to different locations and has terminated several tribal government employees from their positions.
On the agenda for the October 5 council meeting were Moore's suspension letter to the vice chief and a September 21 petition concerning tribal resources, income and expenditures. "Everything was carried out according to the constitution," Soctomah says of the council's actions. "The vice chief is acting under her own authority as elected, according to the constitution," which is to take over the administrative duties of the chief in his absence, she says. "She could be considered the first female vice chief in that situation."
Soctomah says that the day after the council vote "elected officials were busy all day ensuring the peace, tranquility and safety within our tribal community." Also, the locks on the housing authority office building that had been used by the chief were changed.
The suspension of the chief by the council appears to have been precipitated by Moore's decision on September 11 to indefinitely suspend the vice chief from her executive duties and responsibilities with the tribal government. He took the action following her being charged on September 4 with three misdemeanor offenses that stemmed from a drunk driving charge against another tribal member. According to Moore, Francis allegedly threatened the police officer who made the OUI arrest in Eastport that he would lose his job if he didn't release the individual. She was charged with the Class D crime of improper influence, the Class E crime of hindering apprehension or prosecution and the Class E crime of permitting unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Then on September 22 four councillors -- Madonna Soctomah, Philip Farrell Jr., Marla Dana and John Dana -- issued a statement that the vice chief's suspension was executed without constitutional authority. In their statement, they nullified the suspension and recognized the full administrative authority of Francis as vice chief.
On September 27 Moore wrote a letter to the tribal clerk, stating that he has retained independent legal counsel for the purpose of filing a petition with the Passamaquoddy court for judicial review and declaratory judgment. He said that the tribal court would be asked to examine "portions of the document purporting to quote certain provisions of the tribal constitution and to declare language presented in the letter dated September 22 to be an inaccurate representation of the Sipayik Constitution." In the constitution's Article V, it states, "No action may be taken by the governor or council except at a meeting duly called and convened." Moore's letter continues, "The tribal court also will be asked to establish authenticity of the letter by compelling those members having signed the document to identify the author(s) and or source of said documents dated September 22, 2015, and delivered to you for distribution by your office. Until such time as the tribal court undertakes judicial review and or provides a declaratory judgment concerning apparent alterations of the Sipayik Constitution as represented by the letter(s) dated September 22, 2015, those letters are set aside as unconstitutional."
In response, Soctomah says she is "thoroughly surprised that the tribal governor does not know the process under the constitution for the authority of the chief and the council." She also points out that Moore was invited to participate in the October 5 council meeting but decided not to. "He has a responsibility to the people" to participate in council meetings, she says. |
