PORT ANGELES — Frances Charles, chairwoman of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, was re-elected to her position on the council Saturday night.
Now that she has been re-elected to the tribal council, she can run for the position of chair again at the end of the month.
Charles, who has been chairwoman for the last three years and held the position several other times throughout her 16 years on the council, said she would pursue the position again.
The chair is elected from among the five council members.
She led the election for her council position with 119 votes.
Among others nominated for the seat, the next highest vote-getter was Phil Charles Jr. with 49, followed by Roberta Kimberly with 28 votes, Charles said.
“It is very good to maintain consistency,” Charles said.
“I’m happy, and I thank everyone for the support that they gave me.
“I’m very humbled and glad for the progress that we are moving toward.”
She said she planned to focus on tribal health issues and the budget.
Official voting documents were not ready yet, so exact percentages for all nominees were not available, Charles said Sunday.
Her fellow council members SEmD Russ Hepfer, Ed Johnson, Joe Turrey and Anthony Charles SEmD also will be on the ballot for chair.
Although all five will appear on the ballot, council members usually write letters to tribal members to let them know who is interested in the chair position and who is not.
Most voting for the election of the chair of the tribe will be by mail and ballots must be received by May 21.
For those who don’t mail in a ballot, polls will be open at the tribal center on Saturday, May 29, from noon to 8 p.m.
All enrolled tribal members older than 18 years old are eligible to register vote, whether or not they live on the reservation, Charles said.
The chair of the tribe is elected annually, she said.
“We heard a lot of people who had concerns over that,” Charles said. “They want to know why they have to vote on that every single year.
“But to change it, we would have to change a lot for things in the constitution, and it would be a long process and not an easy process.
“Those are things we can look at for the long run.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
