The preliminary count of 49 mail-in votes showed the new tribal chairman is Lawrence Bear, a former tribal chairman and Leon Bear's uncle. Marlinda Moon defeated Leon Bear to become vice-chair; and Lena Knight has been elected committee secretary, according to a memo from Phoenix-based BIA spokesman Wendell Peacock.
The BIA and the tribe still must verify the results for them to be official. Even if the results stand, it was uncertain Wednesday how the leadership change might affect Private Fuel Storage's plans to build an open-air project to store 44,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel rods on the reservation 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
The lease the tribe signed with PFS is still in effect, said PFS spokeswoman Sue Martin. "The election is for tribal officers. The lease is between PFS and the entire band, not a particular set of officers," she said. "We are eager to work with whomever they elect."
Martin noted that Lawrence Bear has been part of the PFS negotiations since the 1990s. "He's certainly no stranger to this project," she said.
Last month, however, the Interior Department blocked transportation of waste to the site and invalidated the previously approved lease between the tribe and its utility-company partners. And since last fall, seven of the eight remaining nuclear utility members of the consortium have pulled out of the partnership.
Neither Lawrence Bear nor Leon Bear could be reached for comment, nor could Lena Knight. Moon declined during a telephone call to comment because the results haven't been verified.
Margene Bullcreek, who has fought Leon Bear and other members of the tribe who supported high-level nuclear waste storage on the reservation 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, welcomed new leadership.
"I'm satisfied with the results," she said, adding she hoped Moon and Knight would help stabilize tribal governance.
The 124-member tribe has been in turmoil for years under Leon Bear's chairmanship, largely over how the money PFS paid the tribe has been spent, but also in failed attempts to wrest control from him.
Last year, Bear pleaded guilty to filing a false federal tax return and agreed to pay $13,000 in back taxes and repay the tribe $25,242 in various duplicate stipends he received, plus an additional $6,300. In exchange, the federal government dropped five charges of embezzlement and fraud based on charges he had stolen $160,952 from tribal programs.
Moon and two others who claimed they were the tribe's legitimate leaders were charged in 2003 with using bogus legal documents to take control of nearly $1.4 million in tribal funds that were held at Zions Bank, Brighton Bank and Bank One. Moon pleaded guilty last year and is making reparations.
Some tribal members are complaining about the way the BIA conducted the election because it was done with mail-in ballots instead of at a meeting of the tribal General Council, which consists of all the adult members. Chester Mills, superintendent of the Uintah-Ouray Agency BIA office in Duchesne County, made the arrangements.
"The BIA didn't do it how we do our tribal business," said Mary Allen, a former tribal secretary and signatory to the PFS lease who continues to support the project. "I would like to know how many people received ballots," Allen added, saying her sister and a nephew had not.
BIA Regional Director Allen Anspach said Wednesday that 88 ballots were sent out via certified mail; 45 ballots were returned by last Friday, the deadline.
Bear held power longer than his elective term because he repeatedly canceled elections, claiming the council meetings lacked a proper quorum.
That's why the tribe asked the BIA to intervene, Bullcreek said, adding now it's time for the tribe to rebuild itself. "The big job is, we need to strengthen our tribal government," she said. "We need to start having programs for employment and housing on the reservation. We are an indigenous people. We have our sovereignty. We need to build on that."
