TULALIP — A familiar face and a newcomer will join the Tulalip Tribes Board of Directors after recent elections.
Donald Hatch, a former tribal board member, and his godson Mark Hatch, a tribal police officer, were elected last Saturday.
They were among 15 candidates vying for two spots. Each term on the seven-member board is for three years.
This will be Donald Hatch’s sixth term since he first ran in 1965. He has never lost in a tribal election.
Donald Hatch also served for 16 of the past 20 years on the Marysville School Board before stepping down in December.
They will take office in April.
One name not on the ballot this year was Stan Jones, who will retire after more than four decades. Jones, 83, served as tribal chairman for many years.
Donald Hatch said he would not have run if Jones had decided to seek another term.
“He’s been there for 44 years,” Hatch said. “I’ve got too much respect for him.”
Tribal members also re-elected Mel Sheldon as the board’s chairman for the next year.
The tribal confederation’s population is about 4,000 with roughly 2,500 members living on the 22,000-acre Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Mark Hatch, a former golf pro at the Battle Creek Golf Club on the reservation, said he got into police work nine years ago to try to help others.
“Now I get to do it on a bigger scale,” he said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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