Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson was resoundingly elected to a seventh two-year term as the president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on Sept. 24, getting 68.1% of the vote in a five-way race in which the runner-up finished with 11.6%.
However, a shakeup in top leadership occurred as First Vice President Ku.seen Jacqueline Pata, who finished fourth in the presidential vote, lost her position to Clinton Cook Sr., the council’s second vice president. She subsequently was not elected to the council’s five other vice president seats.
Pata has served as the council’s second in command since 2021. She will continue in her role as president and CEO of the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority, a job she has held since 2019.
The decisive presidential vote by 69 delegates at the council’s 91st annual tribal assembly in Juneau drew applause throughout Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall when the results were displayed. Peterson, the council’s president since 2014, was in a contested race this year after facing abuse accusations from a former romantic partner last year, with a council review resulting in no finding as to whether the accusations had merit.
Peterson, in an interview after the vote, said it was the most contested election he has faced since the four-candidate race when he was initially elected in 2014.
Peterson said he wasn’t bothered about being challenged by Pata and the other three candidates.
“The reality is we have a lot of love and respect for each other, and I think people want to put themselves forward for positions in the way they can serve,” he said of Pata.
The top-finishing challenger was Shkaadul.aat Lisa Gassman with 11.6%, followed by Melissa Kookesh with 10.1%, Pata at 7.2% and Jáx Kóoste Tasha Hotch at 2.9%.
The votes for first vice president were Cook with 56.5%, Kookesh 17.4%, Pata 15.9%, Gassman 8.7% and Hitch 1.4%.
Cook, according to Tlingit and Haida’s website, is the president of the Craig Tribal Association, and a member of the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority board and Haa Yaḵaawu Financial Corp. The website states he is a certified petroleum technician with years of experience working in the heating and construction industry.
The delegates, after another caucus, overwhelmingly selected Cook as first vice president. The five other vice presidents were selected in six balloting rounds.
Elected were Rob Sanderson Jr., Frances Mills, Will Micklin, Michelle D. Martin and William A. Ware.
Pata said the outcome of the elections wasn’t a surprise. Peterson’s sizeable reelection margin showed support for what the tribal council has achieved.
“Our tribe has grown a lot,” she said. “Every community has felt the benefit of the COVID dollars. We’ve delivered a lot and people are appreciative of that, so I’m not surprised. I think the tribe has done some really great stuff and we need to be proud of that.”
