Hardeen: No reform from Morgan?

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Though a special session of the Navajo Nation Council is being held today, absent from the proposed agenda is legislation to consider a $2 million appropriation for the government reform effort that was agreed upon and signed by Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan and President Joe Shirley Jr.

The memorandum of agreement specifically stated that legislation to fund the effort would be put on the agenda for Council consideration at the next special session. The agreement — which calls for a type of convention that would result in a document for government reform to be voted on by the Navajo people — was signed and announced on Aug. 13 by the speaker and president.

As the Council speaker, Morgan has the duty to present a proposed agenda for a Council session to the Ethics and Rules Committee, which then has the authority to send to the full Council. The Council, which has final approval over its agenda, can also add certain items to the agenda with a two-thirds vote, or 59 delegates, approving.

Joshua Lavar Butler, spokesman for Morgan, said that the legislation seeking $2 million was not on the agenda presented by the speaker but that Council delegate Leonard Tsosie, Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse Lake, attempted to get the legislation on the agenda at the committee meeting Wednesday.

Tsosie and Raymond Maxx, Coalmine Canyon/Tohnaneesdizi, are sponsoring the legislation seeking $2 million.

However, the legislation was not added based on technicalities, Butler said.

Though he did not say what type of technicality placed the legislation out of order, the Ethics and Rules Committee may rule that an item is out of order if there is no money in the source cited in the legislation, for example, or if all the paperwork is not present in some cases.

The inaction by Morgan puts him in breach of the agreement and calls into question his commitment to government reform, Shirley’s spokesman George Hardeen said.

“It really would appear to Navajos paying attention to this that the speaker is really not interested in government reform as he says,” Hardeen said.

After the agreement was signed nearly a month ago, the next step was to put the legislation before the Council, he said.

“This is their opportunity to act and they have not chosen to seize the opportunity. All we can do is wait as we continue to gather petition signatures,” he said

Hardeen added that the speaker asked for the meetings and asked Council for $300,000 so he could hire an attorney to work out the memorandum of agreement with the president. Butler was unsure if or how much money was appropriated for the attorney when the Independent called him to confirm the information.

The president also had to hire an attorney through the Department of Justice to work out the terms of the agreement, Hardeen said.

Having the meetings and going through the process of establishing an agreement cost the initiative its momentum, Hardeen said.

Still, people are eager to sign the petition, he said.

“And undoubtedly we’ll be getting a lot of signatures when the public realizes what is really occurring,” he said.