Elections were held in Grand Portage on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 and members of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa had a full slate of candidates to choose from. Voters narrowed the race to two for each of the three seats on the Reservation Tribal Council (RTC). The top two vote getters for secretary/treasurer, committeeperson I and committeeperson II will now be on the ballot for the general election on June 10, 2014.
For secretary/treasurer, incumbent April Clearwater-Day McCormick received 36.33 percent of the vote, with Dennis B. Morrison close behind with 35.97 percent. The third candidate in the primary, Dana Logan, received 25.7 percent of the vote. So McCormick and Morrison will be on the ballot in June.
Seven people ran for the committeeperson I seat currently held by Arvid Dahl. Dahl did not run for reelection and Amber Porter, Ricky Parent, Toby Stephens, Rob Hull, Mike Keyport, Orlando “Dedo” Swader, and Norma Hendrickson- Roth all filed to run for that vacancy. Receiving the most votes was Rob Hull with 38.85 percent. Amber Porter received the second highest number of votes, 22.66 percent. Hull and Porter will be on the ballot for the June general election.
There were three candidates for the Committeeperson II council seat, incumbent John Morrin, William “Bill” Myers and Bonnie Johnson. Morrin received the most votes with 41.16 percent, followed by Myers with 36.82 percent and Johnson with 22.02 percent. Morrin and Myers will be on the June ballot.
Grand Portage RTC Chairman Norman Deschampe, reached by phone the day after the election said it was good to see multiple candidates on the ballot. “It’s nice to see that there are that many people interested,” said Deschampe.
The election was held in accordance with Minnesota Chippewa Tribe ordinances and was overseen by Election Judge Gale Carlson, Teller Marilyn Bowles, Clerk Lisa Brickner and Alternate Robert Deschampe.
The Grand Portage Reservation Tribal Council is the governing body of Grand Portage. The enrolled members of the band elect the tribal council officers. The council oversees health care, social services, education, jobs, housing, public safety, and more.
Currently serving on the Tribal Council are Chairman Norman W. Deschampe, Vice-chairman John Morrin, Secretary- Treasurer April McCormick, Councilman Arvid Dahl and Councilwoman Janice Marie Spry.
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