The WCA Cultural Center, on Front Street. The carving shed was the location of the tribe's recent election, which selected four new members for their council.
Results are in for the Wrangell Cooperative Association's recent election. The WCA is Wrangell's local tribal organization, and last Tuesday, Nov. 10, they held elections for their tribal council. There were six names on the ballot this year, and voters got to choose among four candidates.
According to the WCA, a total of 90 valid ballots were received this election. There were 83 ballots cast, six absentee ballots, three questioned ballots and two invalidated ballots.
The new members of the council are Frank Churchill Jr. (68 votes), DJ McConachie (61 votes), Ed Rilatos (59 votes), and Lovey Brock (50 votes). They have all been elected to the council for two-year terms. All winners but Rilatos were incumbents.
"I look forward to the next two years ... I think we've come a long way," Brock said.
Brock added that this is her 16th year on the council, she believes. She also said that she wanted to thank Jason Clark, a candidate who did not win election this year, for throwing his hat into the ring. She wanted to encourage more younger people like Clark to get involved.
McConachie has been on the council for several years now, but said he could not recall the exact number. His big goal for the next few years, he said, will be to focus on creating new opportunities for the tribe.
"I want to see the tribe focus on economic development," he said. "I want there to be opportunities for our people."
Rilatos said that he was very excited to work alongside the other members of the council. There were good people there who were doing good work, he said, and he wanted to try and be a positive influence and help keep things moving forward.
"I'm happy to be elected to it," he said. "It looks like a pretty good board."
Churchill declined to comment for the paper.
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