January 09, 2014
Thursday PM

Concerning the recen tletter about a government out of control, let me preface this letter by saying I don't believe in recalls. I do believe in the election process and if the voters made a mistake, correct it during the next election. That being said, the employees who signed the petition are absolutely correct. As a former Chairman of Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC), I had our council pass a resolution that prohibited a council member and our governing body from interfering with Tribal administration. I knew as a leader of our government that we hired a General Manager and department managers to do a job and I also knew I was elected to govern and not to run Tribal programs.

It sounds and has been an issue for years now, that this Government thinks they are qualified to make Human Resource and other program decisions. Well I will say unequivocally, they are not. I don't believe they fully understand the liability they have when they get involved in personnel issues and as a governing leader why would they want to get involved. When an employee brought a personnel issue to my council, we immediately referred it to the General Manager because we realized we were elected to govern and not run programs. Having most of your managers petition your government should be a clear indication that you as governing leaders need to control your governing body. This simply stated, you hire qualifiied people to run your programs let them do their job and you as a Government do your job of governing.

I realize that often elected officials are not experienced enough to understand the nuances of governing and revert to the base H.R. belief that they are protecting their people by getting involved but they are wrong. Are you protecting your people by chasing away good qualified employees by your interference? I have managed many Tribal programs and businesses and I have always noted that the successful Tribes are the ones that have a clear definition of authority and responsibility. The Tribes that are consistently successful have Governments that do not interfere with their administration. Those that wonder why they aren't successful wonder why, isn't it time that strong leadership prevails and stops the missed placed government member from doing the wrong things.

As a final note, if you are saying you are running because you are not going to let people push you out, you are probably running for the wrong reason. It is an honor to serve your people, do it honorably.

Randy Williams
Auburn, Washington

Received January 09, 2014 - Published January 09, 2014

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