Bitter Rivals To Face Off In 2015 Cherokee Election
2015 Cherokee election features bitter rivals of 2011 race
By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. (AP) – The 2015 Cherokee Nation campaign for principal chief is picking up where the last one left off.
Although several candidates have declared they’ll seek the tribe’s top post June 27, eyes are already on two political veterans: current chief Bill John Baker and his predecessor, Chad Smith.
“Do we want to become a strong nation or settle for being a mediocre political association?” Smith asked in an early salvo at the incumbent. “For me, we should work hard to make the nation a great nation and not settle.”
Baker said he’s brought the tribe forward from Smith’s dozen years as principal chief, eliminating fraud and waste that plagued the government.