Nominations for Tla’amin Nation’s historic first election opened Thursday night and were met with great interest, according to its
election officials.
Tla’amin Nation’s electoral officer Fred Schiffner said he received five written nominations for hegus and 21 for legislators.
“The numbers are a little surprising,” said Schiffner. “I didn’t think there would be as many nominees as there were, but that’s good. Competition is good for the soul.”
Names of nominees will be released to the public after the Thursday, August 4, deadline in order to have all documents and deposits submitted and mandatory orientation completed, he said.
Two nominees are current band members, but not Tla’amin citizens, a requirement of the position. “It’s a fairly simple process to enrol as a citizen,” he said.
Nominees are required to provide sworn documents that they are qualified to run and will abide by Tla’amin’s fair-campaigning rules.
Deposits to run are $100 for hegus and $50 for legislator. A two-hour orientation session will provide basic information about how to read financial statements and the structure of Tla’amin government.
Anyone who does not submit the paperwork and deposit or attend the orientation meeting is not running, said Schiffner. “That’s my decision. I’ll just take them right off the ballot,” he said
One hegus and eight legislators will be elected September 10 in Tla’amin’s first election as a self-governing nation.
