Sipayik recall vote on tribal councillor, vice chief disputed

In the March 26 election at Sipayik called by Passamaquoddy Chief Fred Moore III, 86% of the tribal members who voted favored recalling Vice Chief Vera Francis and 93% were in favor of recalling tribal councillor Madonna Soctomah. However, Moore has been suspended from his administrative duties as chief, and other tribal officials maintain that the election was invalid.
A total of 171 tribal members voted, with 159 voting to recall Soctomah and 12 voting against recall. For Vera Francis, 147 voted for recalling her and 24 were against. The turnout was about 25% of the eligible voters, and a comparable number, 173, had voted in the election to recall tribal councillor Mary Creighton last March. Esther Attean was the acting ballot clerk and appointed three deputies.
Chief Moore comments that "171 people is no small number," but he alleges that voter turnout was suppressed, with people being threatened with arrest and tribal government employees being given notes that they could be arrested if they voted. He says other tribal government employees were afraid of losing their jobs. "Many employees' relatives did not vote," he maintains.
Following the election, Pleasant Point Police Chief Pos Bassett sent a letter to the tribe's elected officials stating that he found the recall election to be "illegitimate." He cites the constitution of the Sipayik members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, which states, "The governor and council shall call and hold a special election to recall any member of the governor and council upon a written petition from the eligible voters of Sipayik to the tribal clerk signed by at least 50% of the number of persons voting at the last Pleasant Point gubernatorial election." Since the election was not called by the governor and council, it was invalid, he states.
Moore, though, points out that the constitution states that the governor and council shall hold the election, and just because one body refuses to call the election that doesn't negate the directive in the constitution. Petitions to recall Francis and Soctomah had been submitted in November but were determined to not have a sufficient number of valid signatures, according to the tribal clerk's certification of the petitions. However, there is a legal dispute over whether signers had to have voted in the last Pleasant Point gubernatorial election or whether just the 50% threshold has to be met.
Moore also points to a conflict of interest concerning the decision by the vice chief and four councillors, including Madonna Soctomah, not to proceed with the hearing on the recall election and the election itself. He argues that Vera Francis and Soctomah should have recused themselves from the discussion and vote, at which point there would not have been a quorum for the council meeting. According to the constitution, the chief and council shall not vote on matters in which they have a direct personal interest, including appointment to tribal offices. He believes that under the constitution the recall vote had to be called and that it is legally binding.
"The people have spoken, and that's how it's going to go," he says. The chief says he will post a tribal council meeting to declare the seats held by Vice Chief Francis and tribal councillor Soctomah to be vacant and to call a special election to fill their seats. If the remaining councillors do not comply with the call for a meeting, Moore says, "There will be more vacancies, and they will be removed." He adds, "A person in public office cannot dismiss 200 signatures on a petition or disqualify the will of the people on technical grounds. That's a fatal design flaw. They have an obligation under the constitution to ensure compliance with the law."
"The tide will rise and the tide will fall, regardless of what they say," says Moore. "There's a rising tide of community sentiment, and these folks would be well advised to hear that voice." He says if they insist on retaining their seats, "they will answer for their actions." Moore states that those who believe the recall vote was not binding should not call it "a mock election," as they should not mock or dismiss the will of the voters.
Moore says that federal and state agencies have been notified that any documents signed by Francis or Soctomah are to have no effect.

Possible paths forward proposed
Madonna Soctomah, though, believes the vote is not legally binding, citing the letter from the chief of police and that there were not enough valid signatures on the petitions. She says the petitions "didn't meet the requirements of the constitution that was passed by the people and that we are governed by."
"It doesn't matter what anybody does with the results of an illegal election," she says, concerning Moore's statements. "The bogus election was meant to intimidate and further do damage in this community. That's all wrong."
Soctomah says that voters were manipulated and points to the "bullying and threatening going on in the community." She notes that, after Moore "had his private election," those who voted to recall the two officials came into her private driveway to celebrate and "to intimidate a 73-year-old woman who lives alone. It was purposefully done. That's pretty bold, if you ask me."
"Where has our culture gone? Where has our family gone?" she asks, referring to the current troubling times for a people who she says are all related. "The fractures that are going on are horrendous."
"The divisiveness that is going on is for the chief and vice chief to settle," she says. "If it spills over to the council and affects policies and procedures and tribal employees, we have to act. If it spills over to the people, they have to act. Hopefully they would act with concrete and factual information."
She adds, "In the event that the people feel that tribal business is not being conducted to their betterment, there is a provision in the constitution for a people's initiative." The initiative provision allows for tribal members to introduce a proposed ordinance or resolution, and Soctomah says they "could ask for the governor and council to hold a whole new election, with the resignations of all elected officials. That's the easiest way -- if we all resigned."
"If the people are serious and have lost faith in the present government, they can call upon us to resign and have a whole new election. I don't believe recalling certain people would work. We're all in this together." She adds, "We would be remiss as elected officials not to hear the voice of the people on policies for the community -- but not on personal agendas."
Soctomah says four councillors voted last October to suspend Moore from his administrative duties as chief and to restore Francis' powers as vice chief, after Moore had suspended her, because councillors had evidence that Moore had expended tribal government funds to benefit himself and his friends without authorization from the tribal council. The current recall effort, though, is not based on any valid information but rather "personal assassinations and attacks," she says. "Elections are supposed to be because people have integrity. The constitution and the oath of office mandate that all elected officials are to act in a manner appropriate and honorable for the tribe."
Soctomah also believes that turmoil develops in the tribal government because the tribe now has a budget of over $11 million, "which is very attractive to those who come into office." She adds, "There isn't transparency and accountability to the people." She also notes that a chief can give preferential treatment to people, which she says is "morally and ethically wrong."
Soctomah believes there should be checks and balances on the use of the tribal government's funds. "The responsibility of management of the budget should not be left to the discretion of elected people who come and go. It should be left to the program administrators. There should be no money handled by the chief and vice chief. That is where the problems lie. Remove the money from the chief and vice chief functions and let them work for the people and serve the people. That doesn't mean money. It should be the health, safety and well-being of the people. It's a new way of thinking of tribal government, and I think we would have a different kind of leadership. Focusing on the problems and the turmoil we're in, that's one possible resolution to make a better life for the people in the community."