Members of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians in Northern California, who operate the Rolling Hills Casino near Corning hope that a tribal council election held last week will calm the power struggle that has been raging for several months.
The election seated Latisha Miller as vice chairperson, Andrew Alejandre as secretary, Ambrosia Rico the treasurer and Natasha Magana a member at-large. No longer on the council is Leslie Lohse. Chairman Andrew Freeman, who sparked the controversy by ousting several council members, remained on the council since his position had not been contested. His term ends in 2016.
Freeman’s action suspending 70 members from tribal rolls does not remain in force, as per the agreement. Instead, all tribal members enrolled after 1999 continue to enjoy full benefits.
Accusations of the mismanagement of millions of dollars by the former leadership may have helped with the lopsided election results, which seated the four members, who ran as a slate, with 138 of 199 votes cast. The ousted members remained ousted.
For several months the two rival factions have been at sword’s point, and frequently at gunpoint, with Sheriff’s deputies brought in to keep them separated.
The election, in which 92 percent of adult members took part, came about as a result of mediation efforts.
Previous to those efforts the Bureau of Indian Affairs had recognized Freeman and ousted council members David Swearinger, Leslie Lohse, Geraldine Freeman and Allen Swearinger as the legal council.
For several months rival councils operated and issued conflicted orders and attempted to run the casino, which, despite all of the sometimes hazardous wrangling, continued to operate.
Recently an audit accused tribal leaders of falling “far short of their legal and ethical obligations to the tribe,” by allowing a purchase of a private jet, millions of dollars in poor investments, including the purchase of gold bullion, $450,000 spent for World Series tickets and poor bookkeeping practices.
The election was monitored by a third party to ensure its legitimacy. After the results were announced Freeman issued a statement: “I’m so pleased that the Nomlaki People had such strong voter turnout and exercised true democracy by electing its tribal leadership. This is a new era of Tribal leadership that promises financial integrity in its governance and financial transparency to all Tribal members to ensure all can share in the benefits of the various tribal enterprises.”
Despite the election court actions are still in play. The Lohse, Pata and Crosby families are still contesting their suspension from the tribal rolls. They remain bound by a federal court order that prevents them from disrupting operations of the casino.
