Richards, Shelly meet
Aide says it's an endorsement, Chief of Staff says not so

By John Christian Hopkins
and Zsombor Peter
Staff Writers

WINDOW ROCK — Ralph Richards, the former Army aviator, is hoping to land in the Gallup mayor's office.

But, he acknowledges that he has a lot of work to do if he hopes to upend Harry Mendoza in the March 27 election.

"We have seven days left," said Richards after a meeting Tuesday with Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly. "You know, God created the world in seven days, so we have some time. But I don't think we'll have a day of rest."

Shelly offered Richards his personal support, said legislative aide Alray Nelson.

"(Shelly) met with Gallup mayoral candidate Ralph Richards to offer his support and discuss the various challenges facing the city of Gallup," Nelson said. "From business and economic development to youth development programs, Mr. Richards proposed his strong plan where all its citizens, Navajo or non-Navajo, can take hold of the numerous opportunities this growing city has to offer."

Introduction to racism
Richards was young when he came face to face with discrimination; his family moved from a small Midwest town of barely 100 people to Tuscaloosa, Ala., during the turbulent 1960s.

"The first time my sister saw a black man, she ran away she thought he was a monster. We had never seen a black person," said Richards. "We saw discrimination and we weren't used to that. We were raised that all men were created equal."

His father came out west to work for Job Corps and that's when Richards came into contact with the Navajo. He lived in Mexican Springs.

"I'm a Tohatchi Cougar," he said.

Richards attended Tohatchi for seventh and eighth grade which was then the highest grade offered at the school.

Vote for holiday
"We're supporting him because we want a federal Native American holiday," said Sherelle Walker, of the National Native American Youth Coalition. They want to start with getting a holiday on the Navajo Nation and then in the City of Gallup, which Richards supports, Walker said.

Shelly also supported Richards because of his promise to work on alcohol initiatives if elected, Nelson said. It was a topic Richards rarely raised during the campaign.

"We agree with his initiatives regarding alcohol," said Nicole Walker, following a private meeting with Richards and Shelly. "And with his support to help Navajo arts and crafts vendors."

Alcohol issues were seldom broached by any of the mayoral candidates in the run-up to Gallup's March 6 general elections. When they were, Richards blamed the city's related troubles largely on judges who were being too lenient with offenders. Mendoza placed more emphasis on the need to step up enforcement by hiring more police officers and paying them more.

Both candidates also spoke of the city's relations with Navajo shoppers. Richards spoke of the need to reach out to Navajos in their surrounding communities instead of waiting for them to come to Gallup. Mendoza spoke of the need to offer the city's businesses more hospitality training.

The vice president's personal support means a lot to him, Richards said.

"It means I've got the support of my neighbors to work together on economic development," Richards said. "What's good for one, is good for the other."

No endorsement
Despite everything Nelson said Tuesday morning, Patrick Sandoval, the president's and vice president's chief of staff, insisted that the meeting did not constitute an endorsement. Shelly did not encourage Gallup's Navajos to vote for one candidate or the other, he said.

"The only thing the vice president encouraged was that those Navajos who did not get out to vote last time should get out and vote this time," Sandoval said.

Considering President Joe Shirley Jr.'s last major endorsement, Shelly's non-endorsement depending on whom you believe might have been a good move. Shirley endorsed U.S. Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential race against incumbent George Bush, who went on to win the election.

But Sandoval doesn't regret the endorsement. Whether it's ended up hurting the tribe, he said, "I leave that for you to judge."

The best you can do, Sandoval said, is gauge each candidate, make your pick, "and you live with what you get."

Voter education
American Indians make up fully one third of the city's residents. With a population topping 22,000, that's more than 7,000 American Indians, most of them Navajo. And while no one has any reliable figures on how many of those Navajos vote in city elections, it's widely believed that they don't head to the polls in nearly as strong numbers as their white and Hispanic neighbors. Gallup Navajos themselves have many theories about why.

Sandoval is among those who believes it's a matter of voter education, that many of Gallup's Navajos simply don't know they're allowed to vote in both city and tribal elections, so they don't bother to register in Gallup.

"Even though Gallup has a large population of Navajos who live there," Sandoval said, "they don't register."

He suggested that the city government could do more to educate Navajo voters about exactly what their rights are and maybe even conduct its own registration drive.

Others say they don't register because they're just not that interested in what happens in Gallup. If that's the case, Sandoval said, they should be.

As resident, he said, Gallup's Navajos can't help but be effected by the Gallup City Council's decisions. And because they're effected, they should have a say.

The runoff between Mendoza and Richards is scheduled for March 27. Early voting continues at City Hall until Friday.