The Navajo Nation Council’s Winter Session Day 3, Jan. 29, 2014, opened with Speaker Pro Temp Edmund Yazzie calling on Council Delegate Dwight Witherspoon for an opening day prayer. Yazzie continued as speaker pro temp from Jan. 28, 2014, which is when Speaker Johnny Naize named as speaker pro temp because the Council was preparing to debate Delegate Alton Shepherd’s LEGISLATION 0003-14, which called on the Council to remove Naize as speaker because the 11 criminal charges of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery filed by the Navajo Nation Special Prosecutors against Naize on Dec. 3, 2013, in the Navajo Nation Window Rock District Court caused Naize to lose the legally mandated requirement to be in “good standing” as speaker.

After the Council voted 12 in favor, 11 opposed on LEGISLATION 0003-14, Speaker Pro Temp Yazzie called for Nazie to reassume the speaker position but then several Delegates called from the council floor for Yazzie to remain as Speaker Pro Temp because the next legislation, 0011-14, was for the Council to appoint a new Speaker to serve out the remaining term of Naize. LEGISLATION 0011-14 required a simple majority of the Council and a majority of the Council reportedly had a plan to appoint a Speaker Pro Temp for the remaining term of Naize’s term as speaker, which would have allowed Naize to keep his title as speaker.

LEGISLATION 0003-14 failed to be approved because Navajo law requires that a speaker be removed with a 2/3 vote of the Council. A 2/3 vote is 16 “Yes” votes.

But then Speaker Pro Temp Yazzie unexpectedly called for a five-minute recess which then became an all day recess after Yazzie announced that he was recessing the Council for the rest of the day because of problems with the Council chamber sound system, which was very unusual.
And it became apparent the next morning that the unexpected recess of the Council before Speaker Pro Temp Yazzie called for LEGISLATION 0011-14 to be read into the Council record was to block fair debate and a vote on LEIGLATION 0011-14 by Naize and his delegates. (SEE MY JAN. 30, 2014, POST.)

And after Yazzie called for an all day recess of the Council, Yazzie announced that the Council would reconvene at 8 a.m. and then he quickly corrected himself and said 10 a.m. I later found out that Naize had called for an “informal meeting” of the Council at 8 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2014, at the Quality Inn in Window Rock, where Delegates Katherine Benally and David Tom spoke out against LEGISLATION 0011-14 and claimed that the sponsor of Legislation 0011-14, who was Delegate Alton Shepherd, told the Council that it would automatically go away if Legislation 0003-14 failed to get 16 “yes” votes from the Council.

I’m not sure how Council legislation goes away if another piece of legislation is not approved.

Anyway, as part of the start of each Council meeting, delegates make announcements. This is where my YouTube Video “Navajo Council Delegates question Press Release and Payments to Delegates”. After Delegate David Tom made his announcement, Delegate Leonard Tsosie made his announcement, which you will hear on this video. Tsosie is concerned about the Office of the Speaker press release regarding the Council’s vote on Legislation 0003-14.

Tsosie emphasizes that the Council did not vote down Legislation 0003-14, which I agree with and which is why everyone, especially journalists and KTNN, should never treat a press release like a news story. Press releases are meant to promote individuals, not the truth.
Tsosie then talks about elders.

Speaker Pro Temp Yazzie then calls on Delegate Alton Shepherd, who comments on the Council’s “informal meeting” at the Quality Inn that morning. Listen carefully to Shepherd’s comments and remember that Shepherd sponsored Legislation 0003-14 and Legislation 0011-14.
His remarks regarding the Naabik’yati Committee focused on the Council’s informal meetings or caucuses and why Council created Naabi, which is for FULL, OPEN/PUBLIC debate by the Council.

Shepherd also informed the Council and specifically Speaker Naize that he plans to make “inquires” into “a lot of payments” made to some delegates, which started from the day he introduced Legislation 0003-14.

Delegate Katherine Benally then interrupts Shepherd with a Point of Order call. Benally accuses Shepherd of using the Council’s announcement time to make statements of “revenge and retaliation.”

Speaker Pro Temp Yazzie interrupts Benally and urges Benally, Shepherd and the Council to be respectfully of each other.