After a decade of secrecy, Tribal members are being heard in Council meetings that have returned to civil discourse and candid exchanges. Being heard makes a difference. And members aired their grievances for a couple of intense meetings. But it had to happen that way. It’s called democracy.
For a while there it was really a series of Sunday meetings but the difference was, Tribal members got answers instead of blank looks.
We wanted to make one more point before we do an update. Leadership is essential during a crisis. The Tribe was in a death spiral, morally, fiscally and administratively. Absolutely no one was guiding the canoe. Leaders fill the void. They listen, offer solutions and most of all they are not afraid of a fight. The fight is straight Mashpee…and you fight to win.
If you ain’t got it in ya, don’t bother.
Anyway let’s talk about who showed up.
Carlton Hendricks, Jr. For over a decade, Hendricks has fought to restore the Tribal voice, transparency and fiscal responsibility to our government. Sometimes he was alone in that fight as the only no vote many a day. But he really wasn’t alone because the people were with him all along. When the Cromwell administration tried to oust him, nearly 200 tribal members showed up at the Council meeting, scaring the B-Jesus out of Cedric and his crew who ultimately dropped the effort and the plan to get rid of Aaron Tobey and Rita Gonsalves. As a student of the Tribal Constitution it became his bible for the proper path. The administration had completely abandoned Tribal law and was spending without a budget and refused to disclose a budget for 3 years. Thank God Hendricks wouldn’t let go. Now, he can get emotional and a little loud. But we’re damned glad to take that passion over the drone nothingness of a sycophant. Now, he’s the signatory on the checks because Gordon Harris abandoned his responsibilities. A lot of people are nervous about having to explain expenditures (check recs) right now…yes they are. The hazardous duty pay issue will have some people’s hair on fire.
Aaron Tobey Tobey is the guy that is by the book. He followed every step with numerous petitions and lawsuits in tribal court. Like a wonky pseudo lawyer he cared nothing about your eyes glazing over as he explained. He launched the petitions and succeeded in forcing the recall election of Cedric Cromwell only to have it cancelled by the audacious embattled chairman. Aaron’s tenacity on the election constitutional violations brought us to the point where we won the lower court decision but got a convoluted appeal process that would have dragged us into summer. Ultimately, a tribal member suggested throwing out the emergency ordinance so here we are with a fresh start. Tobey brought civility to this last month of dialogue between the Council members and Tribal members anxious to get back to normal. Aaron has a rocky relationship with our people, but voters are taking a second look at his candidacy because he seems to have learned a valuable lesson, service to Tribe is all that matters.
Angela Marcellino- Marcellino deserves credit for working to get support. She campaigns and she is on every Tribal Council call or emergency meeting. Most of her opponents are not. Those zooms can be scary if you don’t know what you’re talking about. And you have to hear voter grievances because this election goes beyond family alliances. The biggest problem we have is the financial implosion yet to be revealed. We need to start stockpiling care packages for Council members who will have to join the Treasurer and dig in to clean up the mess. But Angela does have accounting and business management experience that is valuable during this time of crisis and as we rebuild. Strong working relationships with Council members and department heads is among her assets that will help quite a bit.
Weeden with US Senator Ed Markey. Taking the initiative is important.
Brian Weeden—Reel Wamps was critical of Weeden early on in this election cycle and we were wrong. Wrong about his lack of experience and wrong about his lack of solutions. Weeden showed his strength during several recent meeting by calming the mood and offering perspectives that made sense. His ability to articulate his knowledge of Tribal and under used federal programs is impressive. We all make the mistake of disregarding his ideas because he is so young and that is wrong. Brian is frustrated by that and he should be. His political instincts are pretty damned good as we saw with his invitation to US Senator Ed Markey. It was the beginning of a relationship we desperately need to get a congressional fix for land into trust. Weeden engaged the senator by giving him a tour and had the wherewithal to give him a gift, which is a small but important protocol that other Council members missed. Weeden has a lot of big ideas on economic development and numerous soft places in our Tribal management. That’s good. In that regard, he joins his elders running for office with big ideas. We need it.
We have other Council members who offer expertise and resources that have been ignored by the Cromwell administration or have had their ideas stolen in plain sight. Rita Gonsalves comes to mind who has a broad range of experiences in grant programs and untapped opportunities important for our growth.
There are others out there who are out there with plans that are new and reflect the needs of Tribal members. We will talk about those members soon.
We get nowhere staying in the box on programs we know about. We have to use the many assets of the people who will lead us into the future. They won’t all agree all the time or win every fight but at least they will have us in mind whatever they do.
NEW ELECTION COMMITTEE REFLECTS DIVERSITY
The new Election Committee is almost complete and reflects the family diversity of the Tribe. Lead by Robin Tobey, other members include Walter Frye, Mingo Teixeira, and Airiel Perry. One more member should be voted on tonight.
We’re on our way.
