District 1 representative resigns

Scott Csernyik

3/15/2002 12:00:00 AM

District 1 representative Ruth Moses resigned from Tribal Council on March 5.

Her resignation was accepted on the same day the resignation letter was submitted as council met for regular session. Moved by Sub-Chief David Otto and supported by Tim Davis, the measure passed by a 9-0-0 vote. District 1 representative Diana Quigno-Grundahl was absent from the meeting. Chief Maynard Kahgegab Jr. only votes in case of a tie.

"This [resignation] comes with regret not to your administration, but to those individuals who believed in me enough to have voted me into office," she stated in the resignation letter addressed to Kahgegab.

Moses' resignation stemmed from a Jan. 4 action where Tribal Council approved "the full-time status of those Council members interested at entry level director wage or their current wage beginning the pay period of Jan. 5, 2002."

The motion, made by Davis and supported by Dis- trict 2 representative Connie Freiburger, was approved by a 5-1-0 vote during the special session. Treasurer Ronald Jackson, who represents District 3, voted against the motion.

Kahgegab defended the philosophy of a full-time council in a Jan. 29 interview, stating that serving on Tribal Council "is more than a full-time job."

"If you are truly working for the people of this Tribe, you know that you have to be in council meetings everyday," he explained. "There are other functions to attend, as well as responding to any phone calls or messages from the people. It's definitely more than a full-time job and should be viewed as such by anyone wanting to run for office."

In her resignation letter, Moses also stated she would not allow herself to be "affiliated with the unprecedented actions of your administration to establish wage and full-time positions for the Tribal Council."

Moses, as an incumbent, finished eighth in the Nov. 6 general election with 185 votes after about 75 percent of the Tribe's registered voters made their choices for Tribal Council.