{"id":16490,"date":"2017-03-30T00:35:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T00:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/?p=16490"},"modified":"2023-09-26T00:49:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T00:49:35","slug":"long-awaited-alamo-school-board-ballot-leaves-out-primary-frontrunners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/2017\/03\/30\/long-awaited-alamo-school-board-ballot-leaves-out-primary-frontrunners\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-awaited Alamo school board ballot leaves out primary frontrunners"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY COLLEEN KEANE<\/strong>
\nSPECIAL TO THE TIMES<\/p>\n

ALBUQUERQUE \u2013 After months of delay, the Alamo Navajo school board general election is on.<\/p>\n

The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18. However, alarmingly, the ballot looks a lot different than the primary results from last August.<\/p>\n

In August 2016, Pedro Apache and Hotona Secatero rose to the top.<\/p>\n

Apache came in 1st with 279 votes; Secatero, 2nd with 215 votes.<\/p>\n

Stanley Herrera, who\u2019s seeking a continued term, settled in 11th place with 143 votes, taking him out of the running.<\/p>\n

But, now Herrera is on the general election ballot and Apache and Secatero have been removed.<\/p>\n

Ballot shift Here\u2019s how it turned around:<\/p>\n

After losing in the primary, Herrera filed complaints against Apache and Secatero claiming they didn\u2019t qualify as candidates because they had worked in different capacities for the Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc. within the past five years. According to the complaints, this is a conflict of interest violating election rules.<\/p>\n

Herrera initially filed his complaints with the Office of Hearing and Appeals.<\/p>\n

In its ruling, according to a legal memo, OHA determined that Herrera didn\u2019t have the right to file complaints once he lost the primary. And, since Apache and Secatero didn\u2019t work in academic positions, there wasn\u2019t any conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

Secatero had worked in human resources and Apache had worked in the health division.<\/p>\n

Unlike many school boards that oversee only a school, the Alamo Navajo School Board is an umbrella organization that also administers a health clinic, a wellness center, an early childhood program, a radio station, and forestry and water departments, to name some of its many programs.<\/p>\n

OHA reinforced the ruling by referring to fundamental law, Din\u00e9\u2019 bi beenahaz\u2019aanii, which he indicated supports community members who participate in local governance.<\/p>\n

Herrera appealed OHA Hearing Office Richie Nez\u2019s decision to the Supreme Court. On Feb. 27, Chief Justice Allen Sloan ruled in Herrera\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n

In overturning the lower court\u2019s decision, Sloan wrote that all staff, whether they worked in an educational capacity or any other position administered by a school board, could cause a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

He noted that the five-year wait time is reasonable. With that, Apache and Secatero were pushed off the ballot.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the rundown after they were removed:<\/p>\n

Edward Padilla<\/p>\n

Earl Apachito<\/p>\n

Steven Apache<\/p>\n

Angela Apachito<\/p>\n

Bucky Apache<\/p>\n

Hector Guerro<\/p>\n

Steve Guerro<\/p>\n

Stanley Herrera<\/p>\n

Archie J. Apachito<\/p>\n

Raymond Apachito, Sr.<\/p>\n

Alvino Sandoval who came in 5th in the primary election withdrew according to the Election Administration Office.<\/p>\n

The revised candidate list includes several familiar names.<\/p>\n

In addition to Stanley Herrera, Earl Apachito, Hector Guerro, and Steve Guerro are seeking continued terms. They are four of the five school board members who have been in dispute with the Election Administration and the Department of Din\u00e9 Education about their terms ending Jan. 9. Several scheduled due process hearings have been postponed.<\/p>\n

School board member Genevieve Apachito is not running again.<\/p>\n

Five candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the general election on April 18 will become the new school board.<\/p>\n

Community concerns Some Alamo citizens have expressed serious misgivings about the new school board election lineup.<\/p>\n

Gene Ganadonegro, 61, was disappointed when he heard Apache and Secatero were taken off the ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose old school board members can take the tables with them. They\u2019re not doing their jobs. During previous terms, we lost a lot of good teachers and a lot of good employees have been terminated,\u201d said Ganadonegro adding that programs are needed to help students advance academically.<\/p>\n

Over recent months, several Alamo residents voiced similar complaints. They did so anonymously because they said they\u2019re afraid of retaliation in a community where ANSBI is the largest and pretty much the only employer for miles around.<\/p>\n

Like Ganadonegro, they allege that in recent years school board members didn\u2019t share budget information, failed to follow due process in personnel matters, and had way too many closed door sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (Alamo residents) have a right to hear what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Ganadonegro.<\/p>\n

When it comes to hiring and firing, they claim that getting jobs and keeping them often depend on who they\u2019re related to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just hiring their favorites, their relatives. Everyone should be treated equal,\u201d stressed Ganadonegro.<\/p>\n

Census reports from 2010 estimate that there\u2019s about 1,085 Alamo citizens who live in the high desert mountains 220 miles southeast of Window Rock.<\/p>\n

Frustrated at being shut out of school board meetings and not being kept informed, on Dec. 20, Alamo citizens voted 33-17 with one abstaining, for a chapter resolution calling for a complete forensic report of the school board income and expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also deeply concerned as previous attempts to question and request the Alamo Navajo School Board of their fiscal expenditures as they are reluctant and refuse to address this issue with the Alamo Navajo community members,\u201d stated the authors of the letter that went along with resolution ANC-12-20-2016.<\/p>\n

Missing signatures by chapter officials, it appears that the resolution was tabled.<\/p>\n

The federal audit-clearing house reports that ANSBI drew in around $17 million in federal funds alone in a recent year.<\/p>\n

Pedro Apache, who received the most votes in the primary, said he hasn\u2019t given up and will put his hat into the race again in 2020. By that time the 5-year ban will be over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people want change. The Supreme Court overturned the people\u2019s dreams. They saw potential in us,\u201d he said referring also to 2nd runner up Secatero.<\/p>\n

Apache said he would run again on a platform of open government, financial accountability, improving academic outcomes, hiring procedures and processes, and reaching out to community members, to name some.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time somebody listens to (community) voices,\u201d remarked Apache.<\/p>\n

Secatero, who ran on a similar platform as Apache, said she would be running again, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see a transparent government. I want to promote education to the community. I want more of our graduates to go to college,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Election administration announces voting opportunities On Tuesday, April 18, votes can be cast at the Alamo Chapter house from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Early walk-in voting is available until 5 p.m. April 14 at all five agency sub-offices.<\/p>\n

For a mail-in ballot, contact the Election Administration office at 928-871-6367. Mail-in ballots must be received at the Election Administration office by April 3.<\/p>\n

Only registered voters from the Alamo Chapter are eligible to vote in the special school board election.<\/p>\n

Calls to Attorney Justin Jones, Stanley Herrera, and Earl Apachito were not returned by deadline.<\/p>\n

An online post on the organization\u2019s website, states, \u201cIt is the Mission of the Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc., to provide the resources and services necessary to empower community members to attain good health and self-sufficiency through excellence in education. ANSB, Inc., will carry out its mission in the spirit of Indian Self-Determination and local decision-making in the planning and administration of its programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on the election, contact Arlene Coan, Voter Registration Specialist for Eastern Agency at 505-786- 2183.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY COLLEEN KEANE SPECIAL TO THE TIMES ALBUQUERQUE \u2013 After months of delay, the Alamo Navajo school board general election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16492,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16490\/revisions\/16492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}