Akwesasne vote results tossed

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November 30, 2009

By DENISE RAYMO The Press Republican Mon Nov 30, 2009, 04:17 PM EST

AKWESASNE — St. Regis Mohawk Tribal leaders will get another chance to gain community approval for a $500 million resort in Sullivan County.

Results of a referendum held on Nov. 21 were thrown out, and a new vote will likely be held in early 2010.

A member of the St. Regis community filed an appeal with the tribe’s Election Board, challenging the length of time the referendum notice was posted before the vote was held on Nov. 21.

An investigation found that the Tribal Council was one day shy of the required 30-day public posting set down in election law, said Aimee Benedict of the Public Information Office.

“The person made a written appeal, saying that time for people to know about the referendum and for notifying persons living off the reservation who wanted to file an absentee ballot was not enough.”

The Election Board agreed and notified the Tribal Council that it would not certify the referendum results.

The council will hold its regular monthly meeting on Saturday, and members are expected to again ask for a referendum to be scheduled, Benedict said.

The Election Board has 90 days from then to hold the vote, which she said will probably occur in mid-January or February.

Voters were asked earlier this month to decide if they wanted the tribe to continue trying to win approval for a multi-million-dollar casino and resort at the former Monticello Race Track.

At the same time, the Tribal Council sought permission to spend $250,000 for an empty office building to house all of its human-services programs under one roof.

The casino proposal was defeated 178 to 140, and the office-building purchase was rejected by a vote of 278 to 37.

Mohawks had formed a partnership in January with Kien Huat Realty III Ltd., which gave seed money to start other gaming resorts on the East Coast.

The tribe needed only to secure an agreement with the federal government to have land for the Sullivan County project held in trust. But Bush Administration Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne rejected the land trust and killed the tribe’s resort plans.

The rejection is under appeal within the Obama Administration under Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

But it will also need community approval to move forward.

E-mail Denise A. Raymo at:

draymo@pressrepublican.com