Navajo Nation presidential election, 2006
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| Presidential election results map. Red denotes Agencies won by Lovejoy/Phelps, Blue denotes those won by Shirley/Shelly. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Navajo Nation Presidential elections took place on November 7, 2006. The election process begins with a primary election, which took place on August 8, 2006. In all there was a total of 11 Navajo individuals vying for the office of Navajo Nation President. There was a woman, a medicine man, a pastor, and even a former Arizona State Senator that wanted to take on the current Administration, the Shirley/Dayish Administration.
Announce for Presidency
Frank Dayish Jr.
On May 6, 2006, then Vice-President of the Navajo Nation Frank Dayish Jr. announce his bid for President. Dayish, announce his bid at the Shiprock Chapter as 450 concern Diné, watch. "It is with humility and honor that I accept this challenge." said Dayish as the more than 400 people cheered him on.
Lynda Lovejoy
Lynda Lovejoy, a former New Mexico House of Representative member declared her candidency on April 1, 2006 at the Crownpoint Chapter House in Crownpoint, NM. An article in the Gallup Independent printed March 17, 2006 shows that she was confident in her bid for the Office of President of the Navajo Nation.
Candidates
- Calvin Tsosie Yatahey, New Mexico
- Frank Dayish Shiprock, New Mexico
- Lynda Lovejoy Crownpoint, New Mexico
- Ernest H Begay Rock Point, Arizona
- James Henderson Ganado, Arizona
- Wilbur Nelson
- Harrison Todichiini Shiprock, New Mexico
- Vern Lee Kirtland, New Mexico
- Joe Shirley Jr. Chinle, Arizona
Primary Election
In a remarkable move the Navajo people selected incumbent candidate Joe Shirley Jr. (Chinle) and New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Linda Lovejoy (Crownpoint) to face off in November 2007. This is the first time in Navajo government history that a woman made it pass the Primary election to be the leader of the largest Native American tribe in the United States. Immediately after the election, Mrs. Lovejoy selected Walter Phelps from Leupp, AZ as her running mate to challenge Joe Shirley Jr., and Council Delegate Ben Shelly (Thoreau). Local radio stations were filled with ads and campaign rallies after the primaries throughout the Navajo Nation, in the end Joe Shirley Jr., won by 4,000 votes to seek another term as President of the Navajo Nation. This is also the first time since Chairman Peter Macdonald Sr. to win another term in office.
Public Endorsement
Joe Shirley Jr. was endorsed by former Chairmans and Presidents such as: Fmr. President and Fmr. Chairman Peterson Zah, Fmr. Chairman Peter Macdonald Sr., Fmr. President Milton Bluehouse Sr., Fmr. Chairman Leonard Haskie, and many other Navajo politicians.
Small Vs. Big
Every major Chapters except Chinle voted in large margins for Lynda Lovejoy, and smaller more rural Chapters voted for Joe Shirley Jr.
| Chapter | Shirley | Lovejoy | Dayish | Begay | Lee | Henderson | Other less 1% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiprock | 270 | 373 | 645 | 181 | 220 | 62 | 63 |
See also
References
- Johnson, Natasha Kaye. (2006). Lovejoy enters race (Archived 2009-05-16). The Gallup Independent
- Hassler, Brian. (2007). Dayish campaign begins with rally in Shiprock (Archived 2009-05-16). The Gallup Independent