Manataba Messenger

Page 15 CANDIDATE FOR TRIBAL COUNCIL ROBERT “BOBBY” PAGE CANDIDATE FOR TRIBAL COUNCIL CHANCE FISHER Hello Tribal Members, My name is Bobby Page, and I am running for re-election on the tribal council. These past four years have really flown by fast and have opened my eyes to our tribal government. If elected, some of my goals over the next four years include equality for all; fixing issues with the irrigation system that is not properly maintained; continue working on the water crisis; hold BIA accountable to their trust responsibilities along with IHS, and the health concerns of our people. I believe it is important for the tribal council to create a five-year plan that would help keep us on track as well as help us be transparent and accountable to our membership. One of the biggest issues I have dealt with is our water. A lot of people want to use it but don’t realize how valuable it is to us and the important tie it has to our people. The future plan would be to still farm 75,000 acres of land and, through conversation measures, still have water to utilize as we see fit. I would like to develop new land and do a fallow rotation to untimely use our 663,000-acre-feet of water in Arizona and our 56,000-acre-feet in California. Because of our water rights established in the 1870’s and 80’s, we are held bound by certain laws of the river that don’t pertain to other tribes. As of today, almost half of our water goes unused, and other people are using it for free. That is the water we need to take control of. An untapped resource is alternative energy. We have more options than most people have in other areas. We need to learn how to allocate funding that comes in as revenue to directly fund special projects, such as housing, health care, economic devel- opment, and the general welfare of our people. Too many times, we decide to start projects and then ask where the money is going to come from. I know it is hard to make sound decisions when we carry bitterness and resentment in our hearts. We need to elect leaders that are adding value to our council and our people. I have seen this in how we help people. We need to help everybody the same and provide the tools and opportunities so our people can help themselves. We must offer our tribal members more business opportunities to be successful. I have seen us put too many stumbling blocks in their way to be set up for failure when trying to open tribal businesses. Most of our policies and procedures need to be updated to current times. Most of our troubles come to us when we deviate from them because they are not updated to deal with modern problems. Not every decision we make will be the right one, but when it’s not, we must learn what not to do, not do it again, and take responsibility for our actions. We have departments and enterprises that need attention and changes to become successful. When they fail, we fail as leaders. Sometimes I feel like a baseball umpire. No matter what the call is, 50% of the crowd will disagree with it, but as long as you know in your heart that you made the best call, you have to be confident in your decision. Some may ask, “Why haven’t you fixed these things?” These are not me decisions. These are we decisions. We need to put our personal feelings aside and work on finding workable solutions that address the hard issues that have the most impact on all our members and reser- vation. When we fix the internal problems, we can address the external. If elected, I will continue to keep an open mind, listen to the people, and treat everybody equally. I will work hard for my tribe and be dedicated to our people. People want what we have and will try and take advantage of us. We must know what we want and protect what we have. I have enjoyed working with the different people in the last 4 years. I also believe we have accomplished a lot. Although we may not agree on everything, for the most part, we have tried to make the best decisions for the betterment of our people and tried to improve every tribal member’s life. I am asking for your vote, as I cannot do any of this without your support. Thank you, and God bless you all. Sincerely, s/Bobby Page "We must be the action that honors our ancestors and protects the future generations." Hello, my name is Chance Little Cloud Fisher, and I'm running for an important seat on the Colorado River Indian Tribal Council. The elections for the Colorado River Indian Tribal Council will be held in Dec.; with that in mind, I wanted to reach out to our tribal membership, introduce myself, and let everyone know why I am running for Tribal Council in December 2020. I am the son of Eddie and Helena Fisher; I have three sisters: Hanaga, Liberty, and Honor Fisher. My grandmother on my mother's side is Eliza Welsh, and my grandparents on my dad's side are Jesse Fisher Sr. and Victoria Romo. I have lived here most of my life. I have also lived off the reservation to further my education and work experience. I strongly feel my education, my knowledge, and my experience was not to further my own journey or my family's journey but to further the journey of our people and the journey of the future generations to come. I am here before you as a "Servant" of the people, and I am ready to commit myself before you and to truly serve our people. Serving the people is a paramount role that I do not take lightly, for I am cloaked in humility, and I am ready to work hard for our people and serve. I attended and graduated from Parker High in 1993. In pursuit of an education to further develop, grow, and learn, I attended and graduated from Remington College in Tempe, AZ, in 2005, with an A.A.S degree in Computer Networking. I attended the University of New Mexico in Gallup, NM, branch for Business and Administration as well. The knowledge I have obtained I use in my position of compliance, which requires attention to detail, addressing issues and concerns, and ensuring compliance of statutes. I was fortunate to receive an education, and it is my sincere desire that all of our people receive an education if that is their wish to do so. Since returning home in 2011, I have had the distinct honor of serving on several Boards for our Tribe: Education Board, TERO Board, and Liquor Board. Serving on these boards, I have learned a lot about the importance of leadership, accountability, and what it truly means to be a servant of the people and protecting the Tribe's interests. In addition to serving on the Boards I mentioned, I was honored with serving as Chairman for the Education Board and TERO Board. I have been fortunate enough to work for a Tribal Enterprise that generates revenue for our Tribe and membership. I believe our Tribe can generate revenue if we make wise and educated investments in our business and any future businesses on the Tribe's horizon. We must be mindful when operating businesses, creating businesses, and consider all options that could benefit our Tribe and people. The future brings technology, opportunity, potential jobs, and we must have discern- ment when making business decisions that could either help our people or hurt our people. We are in a fragile moment of time when we need to build our future in a manner that provides for our people's needs. CONTINUED PAGE 16