UKB's Wickliffe, Locust win re-election

Tribal members will vote in a Dec. 1 runoff to elect a secretary and Tahlequah rep.

By JOSH NEWTON

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — United Keetoowah Band Chief George Wickliffe and Assistant Chief Charles Locust won their respective re-election bids Monday.

About 60 percent of voters , 770, chose the incumbent chief over opponents Jerry Henson, who received 21.75 percent of the vote, and Dallas Proctor, who received 18.65 percent.

In individual district voting, Wickliffe lost only two of nine districts: the Illinois District, where Henson beat him 17 to 14; and the Sequoyah District, where Henson received 25 votes over Wickliffe’s 13.

Locust received 59 percent of the vote in his run, pulling in 752 ballots to opponent Albert Shade’s 522. Broken down by district, Locust carried six of nine districts, and lost to Shade in the Illinois, Sequoyah and Tahlequah districts.

“Our re-election means the elderly will continue receiving $200 twice a year; higher education scholarships will continue at $3,000 per year; and emergency assistance with no low-income guidelines will be available to assist those who may need help from time to time,” said Wickliffe.

Locust said he appreciates those who worked on his campaign.

“Everyone did a great job and were good supporters that kept us motivated,” said Locust. “We have a good team, and we are going to have some exciting things happen within the UKB tribe.”

Wickliffe and Locust say they have restored “respectability and accountability back to the United Keetoowah Band tribe.”

Incumbent Secretary Liz Littledave, who carried six of nine districts, will face a runoff Dec. 1 against opponent J. Kristine Scraper, who carried the other three districts. Littledave received 48.51 percent of the votes, coming about 32 votes shy of securing the 51 percent needed to be re-elected without a runoff. Scraper received 27.99 percent, and a third candidate, Adelene Smith, received 23.51 percent of the votes.

Ella Mae (Cooksey) Worley, who was endorsed by the Wickliffe-Locust administration, ousted incumbent UKB Treasurer Shelbi (Doyeto) Wofford, 59.58 percent to 40.42 percent. Worley carried eight of nine districts, losing only the Cooweescoowee District.

In the four-person race for Tahlequah District representative, Betty Holcomb received 37.78 percent of the vote, forcing her into a runoff Dec. 1 with Kathy Neugin White, who garnered 29.47 percent. Matthew Walls received 19.40 percent in that race, and Kenneth “Toot” Hogner received 13.35 percent. Shade had previously acted as the Tahlequah District representative, but chose to run for assistant chief during this election.

Cooweescoowee District incumbent Rep. Clifford Wofford beat opponents Jo Ann Tidwell and Portia Wickliffe-Kelly by pulling in more than 54 percent of the vote. Delaware District incumbent Rep. Jerry Hanson defeated opponent Richard Fields, 64.4 percent to 35.6 percent.

Goingsnake incumbent Rep. Joyce Fourkiller-Hawk edged out opponent William “Willie” Christie with 52.9 percent of the vote. Illinois District incumbent Rep. Barbara Girty beat opponent Donald Adair with 65.71 percent of the vote in the district where only 35 votes were cast – the smallest number in all district races.

Canadian District Rep. Eddie Sacks, Flint District Rep. Woodrow Proctor, Saline District Rep. Charles Smoke, and Sequoyah District Rep. Barry Dotson each retained their incumbent seats after running unopposed.

“I want to thank everyone involved in our campaign for making this a successful night,” said Wickliffe. “We will continue to look into establishing a casino in Fort Smith and looking at bringing job opportunities to our Keetoowah Cherokee people by constructing a new education and training facility on our newly acquired 40 acres of tribal land.”

The UKB chief, assistant chief, secretary and treasurer serve four-year terms, while district representatives serve two-year terms. Those elected will take office in January 2009.