Manataba Messenger

Page 11 CANDIDATE FOR TRIBAL COUNCIL LEO SCOTT CANDIDATE FOR TRIBAL COUNCIL RICHARD DILLON ESQUERRA Hello, my name is Leo Scott, and I am of Mohave descent. I am currently employed as the Acting JDC Administrator for the Colorado River Indian Tribes. My view on any issue is to always do the right thing according to our civil rights as human beings and the writ- ten and approved laws of the land. My decision to run for an elected position within our Tribe is to help improve our departments' day-to-day operations, having a dif- ficult time hiring new employees. During this pandemic, many employees in many departments have been overlooked and over- worked due to the inefficient hiring process of our Tribe, which has caused employee burnout and low morale. In addition, we need to get our tribal people working. We have within our tribal membership highly qualified and intelligent people who have persevered for years to attain their College degrees and are eager for an opportunity to be of service to our tribal commu- nity. I also believe that any and all tribal members who do not meet the current hiring qualifications should be given employment oppor- tunities. Many of our members just need a chance to prove themselves, and we, as a tribe, should be there to help. We need to imple- ment a program that specifically helps these members work and attain the necessary qualifications concurrently to meet their needs. We are a sovereign nation, and the advancement of our membership should come first. Last but not least, to our membership as a whole. We live in a small community, and many have not met me personally. It is said that an individual is known for the fruits they bear, and by the content of one's character, anyone that knows me can attest that I have been living an honest life. I am the Husband to Ginger Swick-Scott, who is employed as the CRIT Museum Curator for the last fifteen years, and the Father to Stacia Scott and Leo Scott, Jr. and a mentor to many youth in our community. If elected, I plan to work hard for the people of our Tribe, and not for any outside special interest, nor non-tribal members who do not have our membership's interest at heart. I will be at the tribal office Monday through Friday and available to anyone who needs to speak with me. Thank you for your support. s/ Leo Scott Hello, My name is Richard Dillon Esquerra, and I'm running for CRIT Tribal Council. I was born here on the reservation in Dec 1967 and lived here till we moved to Phoenix when I was 6. I grew up in Phoenix & lived there till 1995 when I got stuck on a girl from here & moved back to marry & raise a family. I've been here ever since. I have been blessed with two of the greatest daughters anybody can ever ask for & was married to two wonderful, beautiful women who I'm thankful for being a part of my life. (and for putting up with me. .lol) I have been a CRIT employee for 24-25 years now, with a short departure to work at BIA in between. I've worked for CRIT EPO as a water quality specialist/program manager, CRIT Utilities as a certified water operator II in treatment & distribution, & now working at CRIT Water Resources as a water resource tech. Thanks to CRIT, I've been able to stay in the water industry & continue my education in this fascinating field. This year, I was appointed to the TERO, Environmental Ag, & Liquor Control(chair) Boards. I have some concerns and ideas I'd like to address if elected to council, but given the current world-wide pandemic, I'm sure that some of these things will be on the back burner until after this situation passes; but for the record. Education: I would like to see the tribal membership take a more active part in promoting higher education for our young people; to get them to utilize the available options the tribe can provide. We need to invest in their future for the tribe's future. Elderly Care: It's no secret that we need a home for our elderly & infirm; this is an issue that comes up in every tribal election ... & STILL hasn't been addressed. It's Time. Law & Order: If you really look at it, us tribal members actually have LESS RIGHTS on CRIT than off the reservation. Think about it: a non-tribal person can commit crimes on CRIT & we can't do anything about it. You can be assaulted by a nontribal person & 9 times out of 10; he will not be charged with anything because the CRIT P.D. has no authority to arrest them. I honestly believe this situation has created a lot of problems between tribal & non-tribal entities on the reservation. This needs to be addressed; this double standard law needs to be changed if for anything, for our rights. I've seen people run for council in the past, & honestly, I believe some of them did not understand or realize what they were running for. More money, power, & nepo- tism seemed to be the goal for some of them ... as far as I'm concerned, I look at it as what it is ... PUBLIC SERVICE. If elected, my job will be to serve & represent you ... ALL the Tribal membership, not my own personal agenda, my family, or anyone of the four tribes here; that's not what I'm running for. Public service, to me, means sacrifice. Lots of long hours & hard decisions about the future of this tribe. It also means if elected, I will support your decisions, even if they go against my ideas or beliefs; after all, my job will be to represent your voice on the matter, not mine. I know there will be nothing easy about this; in fact, I'm pretty sure this will be the toughest job I'll ever have. I have many ideas, thoughts, & plans in my head that are too many to put down right now, but as time goes on, I'll do my best to get some of those out to you in the next coming weeks, & I'm available for any questions you might have, so don't hesitate to ask. I thank you for your time & God Bless. s/ Richard D. Esquerra