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Matthew Komalty recall, Kiowa Tribe (2020)
| Kiowa Tribe recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Oklahoma Oklahoma recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Matthew Komalty from his position as chairman of the Kiowa Tribe did not go to a vote in 2020. Recall supporters said they stopped collecting signatures due to health risk concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] They would have had to file petitions with 1,511 signatures by September 23, 2020, to hold a recall election.[2]
The recall effort began in June 2020. The recall petition said that Komalty had violated a council resolution to raise his own salary; hired relatives in violation of the tribe's anti-nepotism provisions; removed members of the Kiowa Casino Operations Authority; and spent CARES Act relief funds without proper approval.[2]
In reaction to the recall effort, Komalty said that he had not requested his salary raise; that his relatives who were hired to work for the tribe had either been hired before he took office, were distantly related to him, or had not been known to him; and that he had removed only one member of the Kiowa Casino Operations Authority with a legitimate reason.[2]
Separate from the recall effort, an impeachment hearing against Komalty was scheduled for August 5, 2020.[3][4] A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the impeachment proceedings in order to investigate due process rights and safety protocols for the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by Susan Brockman Campbell and Joe Poe Jr. "I would say the main thing that caused all this grief is back in September he removed $6 million from the casino's bank account without proper authority," Poe said.[2]
The petition includes the following reasons for recall, according to The Oklahoman:[2]
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• Raising his own salary from $67,000 to $89,000 in violation of a resolution of the Kiowa Indian Council. • Failing to see that required audits were completed. • Hiring his wife as executive director of the Gaming commission and other relatives to oversee tribal enrollment and the housing office in violation of anti nepotism provisions. • Rendering the Kiowa Casino Operations Authority unable to function by removing authority members from office. • Spending or committing CARES Act relief funds without proper approval.[6] |
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On June 22, 2020, the Kiowa Legislature voted to move forward with an impeachment hearing against Komalty. The hearing was held on July 23, 2020. According to The Lawton Constitution, the impeachment case included five charges of failing to follow the Kiowa Constitution.[7]
Recall opponents
In reaction to the recall effort, Komalty said, "Everything we've done has been according to guidelines, by the rules, by the charter, by the constitution."[2]
In response to the allegation that he raised his salary, Komalty said he did not request the raise. He also said he did not hire his wife to be executive director of the Gaming Commission. He said she was hired to work for the commission years before he took office and that she became interim executive director due to a vacancy.[2]
Komalty also said that he did not know the person who was hired to oversee tribal enrollment was his relative and that the relative who was hired to oversee the housing office was not a close relation and did not violate the anti-nepotism provision.[2]
Komalty also said that he removed only one Kiowa Casino Operations Authority member and that he had a legitimate reason to do so. He said the other members were removed by the Kiowa Gaming Commission.[2]
In reaction to the allegation that Komalty had removed $6 million without proper authority, former chief financial officer for the tribe Adam Valdez said that Komalty did not appropriate the funds. "All that occurred was a transfer from a casino bank account to a tribal account," Valdez said. He said that the funds remained in the tribal account until the council voted to authorize the appropriation of the funds.[2]
Valdez also said that the tribe was behind on its audits when Komalty took office. He said they have caught up since Komalty took office.[2]
Freida Satepeahtaw, COVID-19 response program director for the tribe, said an application process had been set up for tribal members to receive assistance following federal guidelines.[2]
Komalty denied the allegations listed against him in the impeachment case. He said the implications are "an example of misrepresentation of accuracy."[7]
Path to the ballot
To hold a recall election, recall supporters would have had to file petitions with 1,511 signatures by September 23, 2020.[2]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Recall the Chairman, "Home," accessed October 27, 2020
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 The Oklahoman, "Recall petititions circulating against leaders of two Oklahoma tribes," July 10, 2020
- ↑ Red Lake Nation News, "Kiowa's Seeking To Oust Chairman," July 24, 2020
- ↑ KGOU, "Kiowa Chairman’s Impeachment Gearing Delayed," July 30, 2020
- ↑ Native News Online, "Impeachment Hearing for Kiowa Chairman Komalty Delayed," August 4, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Lawton Constitution, "Comanche, Kiowa recall efforts on display at open house," July 8, 2020
