Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota

In somewhat of a shocking development, U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2010.  Dorgan has chaired the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs since 2007 and is also the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. 

Dorgan first ran for North Dakota’s sole House seat in 1974 but lost.  Dorgan rebounded 6 years later to win election as ND’s Congressional Representative, a seat he held from 1980 to 1992 when he successfully ran for Senator.  Dorgan has served as a ND Senator since 1992.

Dorgan has championed a number of major Native American issues as Chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee including health care for native americans, sovereignty, economic development, and domestic violence.  Dorgan twice sponsored the American Indian Health Care Improvement Act in the Senate.

Dorgan has enjoyed close relationship with the five tribes in North Dakota.

His retirement may have something to do with his bad polling of recent.  North Dakota and South Dakota are something of a political anomaly.  While both states are overwhelmingly Republican and voted for President Bush (and John McCain) by large margins, three of the four Senators and both Congressmen are Democrats.  Obama’s popularity, which was never that high to begin with, in North Dakota has severely dwindled and over 60% of state opposes health care reform which Senator Dorgan has supported.

The most recent Zogby and Rasmussen polls have Dorgan trailing the current North Dakota Governor John Hoeven by 22 and 19 points respectively.  There is little in terms of undecided votes out for grabs (6% and 9% respectively) so the odds for Dorgan would be daunting if Hoeven decides to jump in. 

Should Hoeven jump in the Senate race, that could trigger a bid for the Governor’s mansion by current Democratic Representive Earl Pomeroy who has held his seat since 1992 and has been winning by wider margins recently.  The question for Pomeroy is where does Hoeven go — Senate or stay in the Governor’s mansion in 2010 — and whether he wants a heads up challenge, run for the vacant seat, or stay in the House.

North Dakota’s filing deadline for the 2010 Primary is not until April 9th, so the field has lots of time to sort itself out.

Clint Didier with Sara Palin

The Seattle PI’s Joel Connelly reports in the “Strange Bedfellows” blog that Washington Senator Patty Murray has drawn her first Republican challenger for her 2010 re-election bid.  Former NFL pro Clint Didier will make his election bid official at three announcements — in Everett, Spokane, and Pasco.  Didier played professional football for the Washington Redskins as a tight end in a period in which they won 3 Superbowls (what must he think of the ‘Skins dismal 4-12 season this year?).  Didier lives in Eastern Washington and is a farmer, coach, and entrepreneur.  His website can be found here.

President Barack Obama signed the Native American Apology Resolution into law on Saturday, December 19, 2009.  The Apology Resolution was included as Section 8113 in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, H.R. 3326, Public Law No. 111-118.

 The Apology Resolution had originally been sponsored in the Senate by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) as S.J. Res. 14.  A companion measure, H.J. Res. 46, was also been introduced in the House by Congressman Dan Boren (D-OK) earlier this year.  Senator Brownback successfully added the Apology Resolution to the Defense Appropriations Act as an amendment on the Senate floor on October 1, 2009.

Senator Brownback said that he introduced the measure “to officially apologize for the past ill-conceived policies by the US Government toward the Native Peoples of this land and re-affirm our commitment toward healing our nation’s wounds and working toward establishing better relationships rooted in reconciliation.”

The Apology Resolution states that the United States, “apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States.”

The Apology Resolution also “urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to bring healing to this land.”

The Apology Resolution comes with a disclaimer that nothing in the Resolution authorizes or supports any legal claims against the United States and that the Resolution does not settle any claims against the United States.

The Apology Resolution does not include the lengthy Preamble that was part of S.J Res. 14 introduced earlier this year by Senator Brownback.  The Preamble recites the history of U.S. – tribal relations including the assistance provided to the settlers by Native Americans, the killing of Indian women and children, the Trail of Tears, the Long Walk, the Sand Creek Massacre, and Wounded Knee, the theft of tribal lands and resources, the breaking of treaties, and the removal of Indian children to boarding schools.

There’s a pretty awesome breakdown of just how the money in President Obama’s economic stimulus plan has made it to Washington and King County in particular.  You can find it here.  We wanted to alert you to the Native American projects in King County that got funded.  THERE’S A LOT!  The big winners were the University of WA with nearly $700,000, the Muckleshoots with more than $580,000, the Tikigaq Corporation with almost $500,000 and the Seattle Indian Health Board with $462,000.   Congratulations to all who got funding.

• The Snoqualmie Tribe got a $120,359.00 Native American Housing Block Grant.
• The Snoqualmie Tribe got a $49,500.00 Energy Department grant for energy conservation and energy efficiency programs.
• The Snoqualmie Tribe got a $72,372.00 contract through the Child Care and Development Fund.
• The Muckleshoot Tribe got a $408,108.00 Native American Housing Block Grant to build new affordable units to house tribal elders.
• The Muckleshoot Tribe got $125,095.00 a Child Care and Development Block Grant to purchase additional supplies.
• The Muckleshoot Tribe got a $47,206.00 grant from Head Start for Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and Quality Improvement Fund.   
• The United Indians of All Tribes got a $87,560.00 grant from Head Start for Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and Quality Improvement Fund.
• The Seattle Indian Health Board got a $461,890.00 grant under the Health Center Integrated Services Development Initiative for a new doctor, pharmacy assistance, exam rooms, IT equipment, security, and facilities repair and renovation.
• The University of Washington got a $200,361.00 grant from the National Institutes of Health to support the recruitment of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to participate in medical research programs.  U-Dub will begin with an outreach initiative to the Squaxin Island Tribe.
• The University of Washington got a $494,603.00 grant from the NIH to support Native education through the Native Youth Enrichment Program, a partnership between UW, the Suquamish Tribe, a local native community organization, and local area school districts and Washington Indigenous Wellness Research Institute.  The goal is to get Native youth who are at risk of dropping out of high school to explore Native history and contemporary issues through the lens of Health Sciences and Ecology.
• The Tikigaq Corporation (Point Hope, Alaska) got a $496,999.98 contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Doyon Project Services (a subsidiary of Doyon, Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation) got a $205,900.00 contract with the U.S. Army for construction and engineering services.
• The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center got a $300,220.00 grant from the NIH to hire a Community Health Educator to update and adapt the Cancer 101 Education and Training Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives, and other community purposes.

Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn has been actively seeking your input on what issues he should tackle when he takes office on January 3rd, 2010.  He has set up a webpage called “Ideas for Seattle”.   You can submit ideas for McGinn on this page and then ask your friends and the public to vote to support your ideas.  The webpage has a running tally of just how many people are supporting your idea..  We just logged in and suggested the he RE-ESTABLISH THE CITY’S NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBAL LIAISON POSITION.  Please go to this page (Race and Social Justice ideas) and VOTE for it.   Many of Seattle’s government employees already support this suggestion which was first brought to McGinn by the Collaborative Association for Native American Employees of Seattle (CANOES) and supported by the Filipino American Civic Employees of Seattle, Blacks in Government, and the Latino Employees of Seattle. 

Thank you!

Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn

Wow — that was quite fun run-up to the 2009 elections!  First, in Seattle, Mayor Greg Nickels was knocked out in the Primary, that despite being the head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and a two-term incumbent with a mighty war chest.  But, then it came down to newcomers Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan.  And the voters went with McGinn in a very close election that took days to decide until Mallahan conceded yesterday.

Read the wraps by Seattle PI here and the Seattle Times here and the Seattle Post Globe here and Publicola here and the Seattle Weekly here. 

The Weekly’s Krist Novoselic reminds us that music venues like the Crocodile supported the trio of winners at an early fundraiser – Dow Constantine, Mike McGinn, and Pete Holmes – and that those kind of music events are now “must do” for politicians in Seattle. 

The Seattle Times has a great timeline of events over at the McGinn camp on election eve at the WarRoom called ”How an Underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall.”

“What happened next has become campaign lore among McGinn supporters.

“Partygoers set down their beers, accepted scripts, phone sheets and pay-as-you-go cellphones, and The War Room bar became an impromptu phone bank to contact voters who hadn’t yet mailed ballots.”

The Seattle Times Editorial Board writes that “Seattleites are naturally drawn to nonconformists” and that:

“One fact may have resonated more than others: McGinn’s campaign had limited professional staff and hundreds of volunteers. He was already showing he could conduct business without a lot of fuss and spending.”

The Seattle Stranger’s Dominic Holden has a different take – that the new power structure will reside in returning City Council President Richard Conlin.  Holden writes that what Seattle needs is a strong leader:

“Fortunately, we now have such a hand: a veteran of grinding bureaucratic battles, a visionary, a man who can make law and attend a Sound Transit board meeting and threaten certain growth- management goons, all before lunch. People of Seattle, meet your new mayor.  Meet Richard Conlin.”

Both Publicola and the PI share this take on the election results — that the political establishment and insiders are now on the outside looking in having backed the wrong horse.

Publicola writes in “Anybody who was Anybody is now Nobody” that at the McGinn victory party:

“The people who’ve been running this town for years—who lined up this time behind McGinn’s opponent, Joe Mallahan—were not to be seen.”

The PI writes in “Mallahan not the only loser; power structure defeated, too” that:

“That noise you heard Monday night in Seattle was the collective wailing of the city’s big shots as they came to grips with the fact that Mike McGinn will be the next mayor.

They are on the outside looking in. They backed the wrong guy.”

Pretty exciting election, all in all.  We’ll report some more on the King County Executive race, Ref 71, and Initiative 1033 later.

Today is the day to VOTE!  You have until your local post office closes to mail in your ballots or until 8 p.m. to drop off your ballots at your local ballot drop box.  The big statewide issues are Ref. 71 and Initiative 1033.  In King County, the race for Executive is between Dow Constantine and former TV anchor Susan Hutchison.  In Seattle, the Mayor’s race looks like a toss up between Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan.

State-wide issues:

From today’s Seattle PI report: 

Referendum 71 asks voters to “approve” or “reject” expansion to the state’s domestic partnership law, which grants same-sex registered domestic partners additional state-granted rights currently given only to married couples. Under state law, heterosexual seniors also can register as domestic partners.

If approved by voters, [Initiative 1033] would cap the amount of money flowing into the general checking accounts of city, county and state governments. Annual revenue increases would be limited to the rate of inflation plus population growth. Any taxes above and beyond the revenue cap would be used to lower property taxes the following year. The state’s Rainy Day Fund would not be subject to the cap, and politicians could collect taxes above the limit by asking voters for approval.

Susan Hutchison, Dow Constantine

King County Executive Race:

The latest polling has Dow Constantine out 10 points ahead of Susan Hutchison.  Constantine currently serves on the King County Executive Council as Chairman.  Hutchinson is a former Hutchison, a former TV news anchor for KIRO 7 in Seattle, is executive director of the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences.  Prior to the Primary, Hutchison had an enormous lead over all candidates.   Post-primary, Hutchison led Constantine by 5 points as late as October 13.  Although the race is officially non-partisan, the polling shows that Hutchison is favored by more Republican voters while Constantine is favored by more Democratic voters.

Joe Mallahan, Mike McGinn

Seattle Mayor’s Race:

The latest King 5 poll has the race between Mallahan and McGinn in a statistical dead heat.  The Seattle Post Globe writes up the race here.  The Seattle Stranger analyzes the likely outcomes here based on the Undecideds who vote at the end of the contest. 

No matter where you stand, please just fill out your ballots and send them in!  We’ll see you around at the election parties tonight.   And we’ll report on some of the national races a bit later in the day.

Today the University of Washington released the latest polling results in four key Washington and Seattle races.  The Washington Poll has Dow Constantine way out in the lead over Susan Hutchison in the race for King County Executive.  Dow leads by a margin of 47 to 34 percent of likely voters.  BUT, the poll also shows that there is a pretty large number of Undecideds (19%) that remain out there for the taking, more than enough to swing the race back in Hutch’s favor, so we think that this race is still far from decided.   We’ve noticed a strong surge of advertising on the King County airwaves, a lot of it negative, so we’ll see where the Undecideds decide to break.  We should also point out that the mid-October King 5/Survey USA poll had Hutchison with a 5 point lead over Dow with 11% Undecided.  The Washington Poll has a larger sample size, and as the Seattle PI noted today, relies on interviews rather than robocalls.

The November 3rd elections are right around the corner here in Washington State.  All of the ballots have been mailed out, so you should have gotten yours by now.  Fill ‘em out and then either mail them in or drop them off at your local drop-off-box locations.  For instance, a list of ballot drop box locations in King County are here.   Ballot drop boxes in Pierce County are listed in page 4 of the guide here.  Snohomish County is here.  The last day to vote is TUESDAY, November 3rd.  If you are voting by mail, your ballot has to be postmarked on Tuesday.  If you are dropping off your ballot, the drop boxes are locked at 8pm.

There’s lots of candidates and lots of issues — like Initiative 1033 and Referendum 71 — on the ballot this year that are getting a lot of press. Ditto the big King County executive race between Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison.  But just as important are your local towns mayors races, school board races, port authority races, and city council races.

Patrick Larson, Jr.

We”ll shout out for first-time candidate Patrick Larson (Citizen Band Potawatomi Nation) who is running for the Marysville City Council.  Check out his website which is here.  A short write up of his campaign is here.

Elections are always important, so use your voice and vote.

Senator Edward Kennedy

We mourn the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass).  He was a true friend, ally, and defender of Indian Country.  We hope you have the time to click here and read the tribute in Indian Country Today written by Native Vote Washington’s Chris Stearns.  If you’d like to do some more digging on Ted Kennedy’s groundbreaking report on Indian Education — written when Kennedy served as Chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Indian Education in 1969 — you can read the report here.  God bless the great Edward M. Kennedy.