Goshute leader backs N-storage
"I support PFS," said Bear, who according to preliminary results was elected, the Bureau of Indian Affairs said Wednesday.
The election likely means the end of a decade of leadership by Chairman Leon Bear, whose leadership has been in dispute with some band members and the state for years, largely because of a deal he spearheaded with Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of nuclear utilities, to build a temporary storage facility on tribal land about 50 miles from Salt Lake City.
Those plans appear in serious jeopardy since the Department of Interior denied the facility's lease last month. PFS has not said publicly what it will do next.
PFS spokeswoman Sue Martin said the consortium had not heard the official results yet so could not comment on a specific winner.
"We will work with whoever the tribe elects," she said, adding that the contract to store nuclear waste on a portion of the reservation is not with particular people but with the whole tribe.
"Mr. (Leon) Bear had relied more on PFS and didn't develop anything," Bullcreek said.
Bullcreek was among those who have called into question Leon Bear's leadership, claiming his opponents were cut off from the band's coffers.
The outgoing chairman has called seven elections then canceled them since his term expired in 2004, citing a lack of a quorum of 44 voting members of the band. In 2001, three band members claimed to replace Bear in a special recall election. The BIA didn't recognize the recall and continued to recognize Leon Bear as chairman.
Leon Bear is on federal probation after pleading guilty to federal charges. He has been ordered to repay the Internal Revenue Service $13,101 in unpaid taxes and to repay his tribe $31,500 for duplicate stipends he billed the band.
This month's election was conducted via mail by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ballots were sent to some 88 eligible voters and 49 people voted. The results were provided by certified mail Wednesday to those who voted.
BIA officials said it's now up to the band members to make the change in leadership happen. Lawrence Bear said there would probably be a meeting, but he didn't know when.
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