Leah Jehnke
To the members of Bay Mills Indian Community,
Many of you are familiar with me. For those of you who are not, my name is Leah Jahnke; my maiden name was Leah Parish. Over the past six years, I have served as the Commodity Food Program Director. Recently, after speaking with Allyn Cameron and learning that he would not be seeking re-election, I made the decision to seek the position of Vice Chairman. Because I believe that we should all be making informed decisions when we cast our ballots on Election Day, I would like to explain my motives and positions.
Approximately two years ago, my position was changed to Social Assistance Programs Coordinator. As such, it is my job to seek and administer grant-funded programs that can be of assistance to low-income tribal members. If the numbers are correct, it appears that the need for assistance in our community is on the rise. This is my number one motivation for seeking a position on the Executive Council. Through the programs I administer I have the opportunity to speak with people from all walks of life and to have first-hand knowledge of what our members need. I feel it is my responsibility to communicate this information to council members to ensure that our community thrives. In my opinion, the most direct way to communicate these needs is to sit on the council. With such direct access to the public, I believe I can make sure the community's best interests are served when decisions are made.
An area of great concern to me is our ability to generate revenue. I believe that we need to diversify our income base while utilizing the talents and resources of our tribal membership. We need to seek opportunities outside of gaming to ensure our financial future. I have several ideas pertaining to this matter and would be willing to discuss them with anyone who is interested. I will always hold true to the belief that we can only prosper and be sustainable as a tribal entity as long as we remember our culture and traditions in everything that we do.
Remembering our culture and traditions means honoring our elders and providing a future for our children. This should always be foremost in our minds when choices are made and decisions rendered. Our elders have suffered for us to be where we are today and have earned the right to certain comforts. Our children will only inherit what we leave behind. Let us work together to make this inheritance rich and rewarding. This means supporting education, no matter which school a child attends. Remember, competition is good because it challenges all parties to perform better. I believe that the Ojibwe Charter School has been an excellent catalyst for educational reform in our area.
I hope that clarifying my position has made it easier for you to cast an informed vote on Election Day. I would like to note that, out of concern for Kelly and Hank, I will not be plastering Bay Mills with signs. We need to remember that they are both getting on in age and post-election clean-up day can be difficult on them ...
Sincerely,
Leah Jahnke
William LeBlanc
To the people of the Bay Mills Indian Community,
I have once again entered my name as a candidate for the Councilman position on the Executive Council. I do this because I think that I can be helpful in moving some of the projects forward that have been delayed for several years. I have had extensive experience in administrative programming and have had successes in legislation that benefit our people and have been responsible for progress in our community's economy. I am proud of the community's advances in health and education and am glad that I have had the opportunity to be helpful in those achievements.
I believe that a tribal leader has to be ready to work with others to make things happen, and I would do that. I believe that our community has to meet the challenges of the future to ensure that a growing population will be served by a growing economy.
I promise that if elected I would attend all meetings, be knowledgeable of all agenda items, and will be ready to do whatever might be asked or assigned to me to the best of my ability.
I need your vote and support to be effective.
Miigwitch,
William A. "Bun" LeBlanc
Kurt Perron
My fellow tribal members,
I would like to take this opportunity to announce to you that I am seeking the position of Tribal Chairman in this year's general election. Along with this, I will also be asking for you to take a moment and consider the qualities and qualifications that are necessary for a candidate to successfully fulfill the functions and carry out the duties that are required for this important and honorable position.
I truly believe that I am the best candidate at this point in our history. What we need now is a new direction, not just a new director; what we need now is a clean break and a fresh start.
Please give me a chance and please give me your vote. In return, I give you my solemn and sacred oath that I will lead like the great leaders of our past. I will lead with a selfless service and an undying faith in you and the future of our people here in Bay Mills.
Respectfully,
Kurt Perron
Jen Touchtone
Dear Bay Mills Tribal Members:
I would like to introduce myself; my name is Jennifer Touchtone, daughter of Donald and Anita Charles, granddaughter of Audrey Lyons. I was born and raised in Bay Mills.
I am running for Secretary of the Executive Council. First and foremost, I would like to say that I cannot promise to change things; I am only one vote out of three other people, but here are some of my ideas.
I have three issues that I would like to address.
First, about the finances of the tribe - we need to work on cutting costs in different areas. As for meeting our obligations, if we can find ways to save money in certain places it will help in meeting other obligations.
Secondly, to help with land claims I do feel we should try different avenues other than gaming, because I do not think the gaming issues will be settled any time soon. We also have to look at how previous Councils have tried to resolve this issue.
The last issue is economic development. I would have to say that we do really need to start looking for other sources of income; the casinos are not going to hold this tribe together forever. I do feel that we should start with one thing at a time. We cannot try to get into too many different things at once because we will spread ourselves too thin. Once we get our foot in the door with other things besides casinos and build that business until it is stable, that's when we should look into other sources that the tribe may be able to invest in.
If anyone would like to talk about any issues I've discussed, please feel free to contact me. My number is 906-248-3667, or you can stop by my home.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Touchtone
