Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe recall, Massachusetts (2019)
| Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Gordon Harris Jessie “Little Doe” Baird |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
A recall election seeking to remove Cedric Cromwell and Gordon Harris from their positions as chairman and treasurer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council in Massachusetts, respectively, was scheduled to be held on September 15, 2019, but it was canceled three days prior to the election date. The tribe's election committee canceled the recall election after the Wampanoag Supreme Court "declined to offer an advisory opinion requested by the tribal council," according to The Mashpee Enterprise. Though it did not offer an advisory opinion, the court did release a document on August 22, 2019, saying that it found the recall petitions insufficient as presented. Aaron Tobey Jr., a member of the tribal council and leader of the recall efforts, said the court was not provided with the full recall petitions that listed the reasons for recall, which had been approved by the election committee. Click here to read the court document.[1][2][3][4][5]
The council asked the court if the recall petitions met the threshold for a recall election, and they also asked who had the authority to direct the election committee in such matters. “Based on language in that decision it was determined that the [recall] hearing would not take place,” Trish Keliinui, a member of the election committee and a communications manager with the tribe, said. Tobey said the council meant “to stop the election even though it was the will of the people.”[1][2][5] He filed a complaint with the court and requested an injunction saying that the election committee had exceeded its authority in canceling the recall election.[6]
Cromwell and Harris were targeted for recall along with vice chairwoman Jessie “Little Doe” Baird in April 2019. Recall supporters cited wrongful conduct, a debt of $500 million owed to the tribe's financial backer, Baird staying in office after she offered her resignation in January 2019, and Harris missing council meetings in February and April as reasons for the recall effort. The petition against Baird was deemed insufficient by the tribe's election committee, but the petitions against Cromwell and Harris were approved to move forward with a recall election.[7][8][9][10]
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council has 11 members.[11]
Recall vote
The recall election was scheduled to be held on September 15, 2019, but it was canceled.[1][2]
Recall supporters
The recall petitions were filed by Aaron Tobey Jr., a member of the tribal council. The petitions cited wrongful conduct, incurring over $500 million in debt since 2009 without providing jobs or building a casino-resort as planned, and “depriving tribe members of their right to vote” when Baird stayed in office after she offered her resignation earlier in the year.[7] The recall petition against Harris said he missed general membership meetings in February and April as well as four meetings of the tribal council in April. Recall supporters said they believed that amounted to nonfeasance.[10]
Tobey said that Cromwell and Baird conspired to keep Baird in office after she resigned on January 25, 2019, which he called an abuse of power. The tribal council ultimately voted to deny Baird's resignation. “Tribal members are hurt and embarrassed by what the Tribal Council has or hasn’t done and they know it’s time for a change,” Tobey said.[7]
Recall opponents
Cromwell, Baird, and Harris had not responded to the recall efforts or the cancelation of the recall elections as of September 14, 2019.[5]
Baird filed a complaint against Tobey in March 2019, alleging that he had defamed her in the media and disclosed information from closed meetings. A hearing for his expulsion was postponed and had not been rescheduled as of April 24, 2019.[7]
Path to the ballot
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council member Aaron Tobey Jr. filed petitions against Cromwell and Baird with the tribe's election committee on April 24, 2019. The petition against Harris was filed after that date. The tribe's constitution allows registered voters of the tribe to recall elected officials by turning in petitions with at least 100 voter signatures. Tobey said that more than 100 tribe members had signed the petitions.[7]
The Mashpee Wampanoag Election Committee rejected the recall petitions against Cromwell and Baird on May 1, 2019, due to signers not being enrolled to vote with the tribe, not having addresses listed in the tribe's enrollment office, not including an address that matched the enrollment office's list, and not writing out their full address on the petitions. Recall supporters had 15 days to submit new petitions.[12][13] The new petitions against Cromwell were approved with 104 signatures, and the petitions against Harris were approved with 120 signatures. The petition against Baird was deemed insufficient.[8][9]
The recall elections for Cromwell and Harris were scheduled for September 15, 2019, but they were canceled three days before the election date.[1][2] If the elections had been held, recall supporters and recall opponents would have both been able to speak at a hearing prior to the recall votes. For results of the vote to stand, at least "40 percent of the total number of registered voters who voted in the preceding annual election," would have had to vote in the recall election, according to the Cape Cod Times. To remove the officeholders from their positions, 60 percent of voters would have had to vote in favor of the recall.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Mashpee Enterprise, "Tribal Chairman Recall Petition Moving Forward," August 14, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Mashpee Enterprise, "Election Committee Cancels Tribal Recall," September 12, 2019
- ↑ Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, "Recall Election Notice: Cancelled," accessed September 13, 2019
- ↑ Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Court, "Case No. CV-19-002," accessed September 13, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cape Cod Times, "Injunction to be filed to force Mashpee Wampanoag tribal recall election," September 13, 2019
- ↑ The Mashpee Enterprise, "Injunction Filed In Tribal Court Following Recall Cancellation," September 19, 2019
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Cape Cod Times, "Move afoot to oust Mashpee Wampanoag tribal leaders," April 24, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cape Cod Times, "Effort to recall tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell moves ahead," May 26, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Mashpee Enterprise, "Tribal Council Treasurer's Recall Going Forward," June 14, 2019
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Taunton Daily Gazette, "Recall effort against Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe treasurer to advance," June 18, 2019
- ↑ Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, "Tribal Council," accessed May 2, 2019
- ↑ The Mashpee Enterprise, "Council Recall Petition Runs Into Delay," May 3, 2019
- ↑ Taunton Daily Gazette, "Drive to recall Mashpee Wampanoag officials dealt setback," May 3, 2019
