Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle
The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) saw two rare things happen in its recent election for chief and council.
One: The same chief and council were re-elected, which is the first time this has happened in more than 40 years, according to Chief Clarence Louie.
Two: There was a tie between incumbent Sammy Jo Louie and newcomer Lindsay Anderson (Kovacs) who received 155 votes. The chief said because their elections still fall under the Indian Act and are controlled by the federal government, the tie was addressed by the election officer drawing a name out of a hat. Sammy Jo Louie won the draw.
The Feb. 16 election saw Charlotte M. Stringam challenge Chief Louie for his job, but she came up far short with 81 votes, compared to Louie’s 229.
Louie said the numbers might point to a vote of confidence for him, but he doesn’t see it that way.
“I don’t look at ‘rez’ elections as a big vote of confidence. Yes, the simple math might give that illusion, but numbers are not the only lens.”
He said the minority that voted against him and other members of council wouldn’t agree to a vote of confidence. “Even though if their candidate won, they would be saying, ‘see, the people wanted change.’”
Chief Louie said a tie vote is rare, but it does happen when there are more than 300 voters. A total of 310 valid votes were cast in the election.
The following councillors were re-elected: Leona Baptiste (190), Sonya Jensen (163), Sammy Jo Louie (155), Nathan McGinnis (179), and Veronica McGinnis (158).
Challengers were Lindsay Anderson (Kovacs) with 155 votes, Anthony Baptiste with 144, Jedidiah Baptiste with 51, Kathleen Falkus with 63, Sylvia Fogg with 37, Trenton Manossa-Gabriel with 57, and Mary Wilber with 83.
