Morgan, Shirley tangle
Speaker: President should put his house in order first

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan is not pleased with the continued attacks on the legislative branch from President Joe Shirley Jr., who is pushing to slash the number of Council delegates from 88 to 24.

“President Shirley continues to publicly criticize the Council, which is dividing the Navajo Nation,” Morgan said. “The legislative branch of the Navajo Nation continues to provide needed government services to the Navajo Nation, despite the criticism from the president.”

During a meeting on government reform last week, Shirley said that the Navajo people need to take their government back from unresponsive, overspending delegates.

“The president fails to see the unresponsive and overspending that is occurring right in his own house,” Morgan said. “If the president is so concerned about curving tribal spending, he should very well begin with cleaning his own house first.”

Shirley is right to say that the people need to know how their money is being spent, and that they need to have a voice. Morgan added.

But maybe Shirley to heed his own advice, according to the speaker.

“The president is correct in that the Navajo people do have the right to know how their tribal dollars are being spent, and the president should reveal how his administration is spending the Navajo people’s money, as well,” Morgan said.

Morgan maintains his position — shared by numerous other Council delegates — that reducing the Council will hinder its ability to provide services.

Currently, the Navajo people elect 88 delegates from the 110 chapters. If the president’s initiative was passed, then the number of delegates for even the largest chapters would be decreased, Morgan said.

Larger chapters, such as Crownpoint, Shiprock, Fort Defiance, Chinle, and Tuba City, would likely receive only one delegate per chapter, as opposed to the number they elect under the 88 delegate Navajo Nation Council, he added.

However, Morgan said, it is the smaller chapters that would be most severely impacted, as they would be forced to share an election precinct with chapters having much larger voting populations or a much greater number of smaller chapters.

Shirley also has also accused the Council of spending money on itself, and he referred to the approximately $300,000 that the Council allegedly spent for its annual motorcycle ride to Washington recently.

Although the Council did appropriate $300,000 for veterans’ issues, the Office of the Speaker is reporting that only four of the five Council delegates that did go to Washington used the Navajo Nation Council’s travel account.

“That account is calculated at $17,130.75, and not the $300,000 that President Shirley is criticizing the Council for,” said Joshua Lavar Butler, the communications director for the speaker.

“It is a fact that $300,000 was earmarked for Navajo Veterans activities, but it was not all used. The Department of Veterans Administration — which is under President Shirley’s executive branch — received $60,000.”

The Veterans Department made the selection of who would travel to Washington, Butler explained.

A representative from each agency was selected and they made arrangements using the Office of the Speaker’s account — where the $300,000 was budgeted.

“The funds are accounted for, and for President Shirley to say that the speaker’s office spent $300,000 on bike rides is erroneous,” Morgan said.

Shirley also said that “funds could be put to better use by providing scholarships or housing assistance.”

“The Council wishes to remind the president that it has continuously overrode his vetoes to deliver funds to the Navajo people for such things,” Morgan said.

Shirley also made reference to the Navajo Council’s 12 standing committees, mocking them as having numerous subcommittees within subcommittees.

The Council does not have such subcommittees within subcommittees, Morgan said.

“It shows that anything will be said to continuously attack the Council, even going so far as to fabricate allegations of the Council. There are no subcommittees within subcommittees,” Morgan said. “Certainly, we do have subcommittees with specific tasks and they are accounted for at all times per Navajo Nation code.”

Morgan also questioned how Shirley can push for reforming the government, if he’s not astute about Navajo governmental operations.

“The Council has been doing the president’s job by appropriating funds to the Navajo people,” Morgan added. “It’s unfortunate that this is how he thanks us for doing his job. Regardless, the Council will continue to help the Navajo people — we have a job to do.”

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at Hopkins1960@hotmail.com