DARRINGTON — The Sauk-Suiattle Tribe has elected three new members to its seven-person council.
Patrick Roberts Jr. and Kevin Lenon won three-year terms and Christine Banks claimed a two-year term, according to the election results. Lenon, the council’s vice chairman, was reelected to the tribe’s governing group. Roberts and Banks are not listed as current council members.
Four other candidates also pursued the three open positions: Cynthia Harris, Kenneth Welborn, Janice Mabee and Dora Dailey. Mabee is on the council but came up three votes short of keeping her seat in Wednesday’s election.
Members of the tribe were allowed to vote for up to three of the seven candidates, and more than 150 votes were tallied. The tribe announced the results Thursday morning.
Candidates did not run for specific positions on the council. Instead, the three with the highest number of votes gained one of the available spots. Roberts received 38 votes, Lenon had 29 votes and Banks got 21 votes.
The current council held its last scheduled meeting of the year Friday morning. The group generally meets once a month.
There are about 225 people in the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe. Its leaders have been working on relocating the reservation, which is at risk of severe flooding. A recent study concluded that global warming eventually could put the existing reservation underwater.
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