Navajo Council now on Legislation 0249-14, which is funding Navajo Election Office for $286,247 for special presidential election.

The five minute recall of Council is over. There are 15 delegates on the floor. it is now 5:36 p.m.

SPEAKER PRO TEM JONATHAN HALE
a document with transcript of Dec. 23, 2015, special Council session has been distributed and it clarifies that there was an amendment made by Delegate Alton Shepherd to strike Budget and Finance Committee recommendation, which reduced $286,247 to $120,000.

DELEGATE ALTON SHEPHERD
My amendment was to strike Budget and Finance Committee recommendation which changed intent of 0249-14, which was to fund a special presidential election and not election office furniture, internet, etc.

DELEGATE LORENZO CURLEY
if all the information is not here by sponsor, Speaker Pro Tem LoRenzo Bates and Navajo Election Office Director Edison Wauneka, then it is not up to the Council to manufacture information to pass this. if we don’t have information in a timely manner then we should ditch this. I call for a Cease Debate on Amendment 1.
SECONDED BY DELEGATE DUANE TSINIGINE
VOTE, 13 IN FAVOR, 3 OPPOSED

VOTE ON AMENDMENT 1, 9 IN FAVOR, 7 OPPOSED

DELEGATE DUANE TSINIGINE
It looks like we are going to have three budgets so i motion to Table and direct Election Office Director Wauneka to keep all his information together and return with a corrected budget.
SECOND, DELEGATE LORENZO CURLEY

DELEGATE KATHERINE BENALLY
There is one budget, not three

SPEAKER PRO TEM BATES
There is one budget, $286,247, and Budget & Finance Committee approved $120,000. If tabled twice then legislation 0247-14 dies but there will be an election and it will be up to legislative branch to fund. and committees not selected until fourth week of january. but the funds will come out. so be aware of consequences of tabling. keep in mind that this is for an election.

VOTE ON TABLING MOTION
4 in favor, 12 opposed

DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE
if we approve this funding then there will be special presidential election next week and all ‘puzzles” have not been resolved.

DELEGATE WALTER PHELPS, POINT OF ORDER
Is this an amendment to an amendment? We approved amendment dealing with dollar amounts and this amendment is another dollar amount.

CHIEF LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL
amend legislation to return to original legislation and that passed 9 to 7 and now moving on to change amount to more than $317,000.

SPEAKER PRO TEM HALE
do you have budget for more than $317,000?

DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE
I do have budget and Election Office Director Wauneka has documents.

LEGISLATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR TOM PLATERO
There are two piles of budgets and Delgate Tsosie’s budget for $317,000 is attached to Legislation 0341-14.

POINT OF ORDER, DELEGATE KATHERINE BENALLY
to combine two legislation is absolutely absurd.

SPEAKER PRO TEM HALE
i was confused too and now I’m recognizing Tsosie’s budget for more than $317,000 for legislation 0249-14.

SPEAKER PRO TEM BATES, SPONSOR
I asked Mr. Wauneka for a budget that he could work with and he said it was $287,000 and now he’s saying it’s $317,000.

DELEGATE DANNY SIMPSON
This amendment is for Council and now Mr. Hale you are allowing Sponsor to speak so I give my remaining time to Mr. Tsosie.

DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE
I disagree with Mr. Bates. You cannot spend money without authorization. Anything short of that is violation of law and you can be charged with theft. I think Chief Justice is without authority to order Controller and no one challenges him. I wish the President would act. He’s just sitting over there. And the Navajo people are yearning for answers on the elections. if he wants to veto then he should. if he had signed then amendment would have been written in different way so we have no choice but to write like this. those of us that support “disenfranchised voters” should vote this down. if president line item vetoes then he’ll veto amendments and that is how he would have “out snookered us.” so better thing is not to allow for funding and let 23rd council decide. there are pieces of puzzle that have not come together so I withdraw I amendment 2.

DELEGATE DWIGHT WITHERSPOON
Delegate Tsosie said an election would happen next week so how would election happen next week.

ELECTION OFFICE DIRECTOR WAUNEKA
the only thing going by is have election no later than Jan. 1, 2015. action by council has to go across and I don’t kow if it will be signed or not.

DELEGATE ALTON SHEPHERD
i’m thinking that funds will need to appropriated and i’m thinking about when council reduced and there was question of election then. but Wauneka called before Supreme Court and he’s on the hot seat. and we’ll be sitting on wayside watching him. i was going to raise point of order and our legislative counsel needs to provide proper legal direction. and we took out amendment to amendment. people are expecting election so we should put money there.

DELEGATE KATHERINE BENALLY
What about the rights of the 40,000 plus. I see Leonard Tsosie and other standing up for 8,000. who is standing for 40,000 and they have right to vote for their president. if we don’t give this funding, we as council will be held in contempt and i hope we will. i will not ask legislative counsel for advice becuase i feel he ill advised election board. there are more voters out there that want to get on with vote. the supreme court will use our journal and i encourage Supreme Court to hold us in contempt. we are still a nation of law. unfortunately some start lying from the beginning.

DELGATE EDMUND YAZZIE GIVES HIS TIME TO DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE
DELEGATE LEONARD TSOSIE
disenfranchised voters had their candidate removed. all votes for Joe Shirley Jr were counted and votes not counted were for Chris Deschene and Supreme Court through out all the votes in General Election. how do we do this fairly. so many people saying i’ll not vote. yea you can choose president with three votes but that president will be illigetimate because Court intervened. I would praise Joe Shirley Jr. and Russell Begaye is they withdrew. That is leadership. They are dragging impaired system along. I’ve been accused of supporting Deschene. And i was asked by Ojo Encino to call for a new Primary Election for Presidential Race. (NOTE – In my Dec. 29, 2014, video taped interview with Delegate Tsosie he said that it was one person from Ojo Encino not the chapter that asked him to call for new primary. )