ShareJobs are focus of campaign for Cherokee chief
Murray EvansThe number of jobs produced by the Cherokee Nation and the people holding those positions have become central issues in the campaign to see who will lead Oklahoma's largest American Indian tribe for the next four years.
The contentious campaign will end Saturday, when voters decide whether to keep 12-year incumbent Chad Smith as the tribe's principal chief or elevate longtime tribal councilman and Tahlequah businessman Bill John Baker to that position. The winner will take office Aug. 14.
There's little debate the Tahlequah-based tribe _ with a membership approaching 300,000 people _ has enjoyed enormous business success during Smith's tenure. He touts the creation of more than 5,000 "stable jobs" during the past decade, in fields as varied as hospitality, gaming, health services, education, security, information technology and tourism.
Most jobs connected with tribal businesses in Oklahoma have gone to American Indians, Smith said. According to a tribal publication called "Where The Casino Money Goes," 58.7 percent of the nearly 3,370 employees of Cherokee Nation Entertainment _ the tribe's casino arm _ are Cherokees, while another 10.6 percent are members of other tribes.
Smith said another 10 percent are non-Indians who have an Indian living in their household.
Baker, who's served 12 years on the tribal council, disputes those numbers. He claims about 1,000 Cherokee jobs have been lost during Smith's tenure and says a jobs initiative the tribe announced in recent weeks reflects his campaign stump speech.
"We can argue for a long time about the number of jobs that have been created," Baker said. "The real issue is Chief Smith will not demand that we hire Cherokees. Only about half of our employees at casinos are Cherokee citizens. We've got the jobs. We're not putting Cherokees into the jobs."
"Indian preference is a policy" in hiring at tribal entities, Smith said, adding that job creation has been a hallmark of his tenure and the jobs initiative was in the works long before the campaign began.
Name an issue, and Baker and Smith are on opposite sides. Baker has hammered Smith for using a tribal airplane "that we can't afford and don't need," while Smith says the tribe has owned a twin-engine airplane for 38 years. Smith said tribal businesses paid to buy the plane, and he follows a budget approved by the tribal council in using it.
Baker wants the tribe to spend more of its gaming revenues on health care, saying that's more important than building new casinos and hotels. Smith said primary care facilities are available within 30 miles of anywhere in the tribe's 14-county jurisdiction in eastern Oklahoma and the tribe has gone from spending $18 million annually on health care in 1999 to more than $300 million annually now.
Baker supports tribal term limits established after Smith already had served eight years. Under current tribal law, principal chiefs can serve no more than two terms, or eight years. There's an initiative on this year's ballot that would eliminate those term limits. Smith opposes term limits but said even if the initiative passes, he doesn't plan to run again.
Both candidates have accused the other of negative campaigning and using questionable campaign tactics, and both have spent heavily in recent months. A series of campaign finance reports filed since mid-April show Smith's campaign had expenditures of $190,696, while Baker's campaign spent $275,586.
While Smith's campaign has raised more money than Baker's through contributions and fundraising activities, Baker loaned his campaign more than $115,000, according to the reports.
"We had a budget and we ran over the budget a little bit," Baker said. "...I am a small businessman blessed with success, so I had the money to loan myself."
About 14,000 people voted in the last election for principal chief in 2007, councilwoman Cara Cowan Watts said.
The tribe has been headed in the right direction during his tenure, Smith said, with more jobs for members and a renaissance in the use of the Cherokee language.
"What we need to focus on is, what is our record, because that is the best prediction of future performance," Smith said. "...The Cherokee Nation has never been stronger."
Baker said he and Smith are "very different in our visions of the future of the Cherokee Nation. I believe our government is here to help our families. .... Good isn't good enough. We should be doing great. Why should we settle?"