And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: Piercing Eyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> forwarded for informational purposes only...contents have not been verified... From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Full-name: AOL News Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 17:15:24 EDT Subject: Cherokee Nation To Elect New Chief Cherokee Nation To Elect New Chief .c The Associated Press TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- The Cherokee Nation -- the nation's second-largest tribe -- will hold a runoff election next month to choose a chief after no candidate seized a majority in voting. Incumbent chief Joe Byrd led nine candidates in Saturday balloting with 32 percent -- or 4,140 votes. Challenger Chad Smith received 19 percent, or 2,535 votes, and candidate Pat Ragsdale placed third with 16 percent, or 2,162 votes. Byrd and Smith will face each other in a June 24 runoff, when a deputy chief will also be selected. Electronic voting devices were used for the first time Saturday by the Cherokee Nation, which has 200,000 members. Half of its 26,000 registered voters cast ballots. Smith said Saturday's outcome was unusual. ``It is in the Cherokee tradition to vote for the incumbent,'' he said. ``But in other chief races, we didn't have to go through a runoff. This is a very big victory.'' The elections are considered pivotal in ending turmoil that has halted tribal government. Many candidates have been key figures in a three-year feud. For instance, Ragsdale was tribal marshal until Byrd fired him in 1997 for serving a search warrant on Cherokee administrative offices, then alleging impropriety. And Smith, a lawyer, was arrested when he tried to stop Byrd's administration from closing the tribe's courthouse. The U.S. Interior Secretary attempted to negotiate a truce, but the conflicts continued with millions of federal dollars unaccounted for and boycotts of tribal meetings. AP-NY-05-23-99 1714EDT Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
