Shirley’s State of the Nation barely OK’d

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr.’s quarterly State of the Nation address to the 21st Council evoked memories of Abraham Lincoln; not because it was seen as “the last, best hope,” but rather because it revealed a house divided.

Some delegates felt that Shirley had veered from a quarterly report and was politicking over upcoming agenda items. The usually routine vote to accept the president’s report revealed the schism among delegates when it barely passed by 37-35 tally.

Shirley’s report raised delegates’ hackles when he began to speak about the Council’s plans to vote on a $50 million loan to construct a new 79,000-square-feet legislative complex.

“It has also been shared with me that there could be an amendment from the floor to raise that figure to $125 million,” Shirley said.

The legislation on the new complex also was fast-tracked without going through a review by the Transportation and Community Development Committee, Shirley said.

To push the plan through, Council was preparing to skirt any public forums on the megaproject and waive numerous Navajo laws, such as Navajo preference and request for bids, the president said.

“The Navajo people cried out when the Council spent $50,000 for rings. This expenditure is 1,000 times that,” Shirley said. “One construction manager, hearing of these plans, foresaw oak-paneled rooms and marble floors for this cost.”

At the proposed amount, Council’s spending on its legislative complex would exceed $500 per square-foot, Shirley added.

“By comparison, the 148,000-square-foot Shiprock Alternative School cost $20 million,” Shirley said. The Pete Domenici Courthouse in Albuquerque is three times the size of the legislative complex, and was done for $43.7 million, he added.

“Do we not feel awkward accepting other’s help to heat our people’s homes, while taking out loans so we can meet in comfort?” Shirley asked.

At this point, Delegate Ervin M. Keeswood Sr. raised an objection. He said the president was debating agenda items, rather than delivering a report.

The State of the Nation is supposed to highlight Nation’s progress, not used to debate upcoming agenda items, Delegate Elmer Milford agreed.

“I’d like to ask the president to get a new writer or something, and give us a report on the progress of the Nation,” Milford added.

Council’s potential actions will affect the state of the Navajo Nation, Shirley said. To repay the loan, Council would take about 10 percent of all general funds annually, Shirley said. That would come out to about $19 million a year, he estimated.

Obviously, that would also mean less money to provide direct services to the people — and could result in lay-offs, Shirley warned.

Shirley said that he would issue an executive order to prohibit Executive Branch employees from seeking supplemental appropriations inconsistent with the requirements of the Navajo Nation Appropriations Act.

Since Fiscal Year 2004, approximately $82 million has been appropriated for supplemental funding, often added as amendments to legislation that is erroneously defined as an emergency, he said.

“We need to mind the affairs of our government through the rule of law. We cannot enact laws and then not follow them,” Shirley said. “We have done that too many times by waiving the laws that have been put into place, and conducting business as if there are no laws, especially where Navajo Nation funds are involved.”

The 20-minutes allotted for the president’s address expired before he reached the end.

The president gives his State of the Nation address on the first day of the quarterly Council sessions.

Before the first salvo in the war on words was fired, Shirley had offered praise and thanks to the Citizens Energy Corp. for a $429,000 grant that helped tribal families suffering from the high cost of heating their homes.

Citizens Energy Corp. is headed by former Massachusetts Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II, eldest son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. It is a leading innovator in delivering natural gas, petroleum and electricity. The corporation is currently focusing on alternative energy projects.

The Citizens Energy grant has helped 540 Navajo families, 262 individuals and 15 institutions so far, Shirley said.
John Christian Hopkins can be reached at Hopkins1960@hotmail.com