TULALIP — Two Tulalip Tribes board members are facing five other candidates in their bid for re-election this year.
Marlin Fryberg Jr. and Marie Zackuse both filed to serve for another three-year term on the seven- member board of directors. Mark Hatch, Ronni Kona, Dawn Simpson, Jared Parks and Tonia Sheldon all hope to snag one of the open spots.
The board is the legislative body for the tribe. It sets and enforces land and economic policies, and works to protect treaty rights including medical care, education and tribal sovereignty. The board also governs activities at Quil Ceda Village, the tribes’ retail and casino complex.
Zackuse was first elected to the board in 1990. Fryberg, a former tribal police detective, was elected to the board in 2006, but also had three years of prior experience as a board member.
Parks is the son of Les Parks, who served on the board for nearly a decade. Both men are involved in a tribal grass-roots committee that focuses on the rights of individual tribal members.
The committee plans to meet 10 times between now and the March 14 election, Park said. The election will occur during the General Council Meeting, when tribal members are able to propose and vote on changes to tribal law.
Committee members are developing a list of proposals to bring forward at the meeting, Parks said. They are also working to ensure that a new policy allowing disabled tribal members to work and collect a disability stipend at the same time will be enacted.
That proposal was approved by tribal members nearly a year ago, but the board hasn’t yet enacted it, Parks said. Several candidates, including Zackuse and Fryberg, did not respond to requests for comment.
Hatch, an evidence officer for the tribal police department, said he hopes to bring a new perspective to the board.
“I see what’s in the community,” he said. “As the evidence officer, I see all the drugs that come across my desk, and I realize there’s probably 80 percent more out there.”
The candidacy announcement kicks off a colorful annual campaign season on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Each year, candidates line Marine Drive with hand-painted signs, often topped with a candidate’s nickname.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
