An election of change?

First, the good news: A fresh start is coming. We hope.

Now the bad: Your choices are limited.

The issues are plenty, the dissenting voices are loud on social media (although not quite as bad as Kahnawake), and the community is as divided as ever.

That’s the reality.

The provisional, unofficial candidates for election list is out and some are hopeful, although many on social media were disappointed with the names - too many unqualified candidates, too many tied to weed shops, they lamented.

But the truth is Kanesatake/Kanehsatake (the fights over how to spell it will never go away) is in a rough situation.

There are only so many people to choose from for chief, and when you have the further limitations of having to live there for three years BEFORE running, plus with only previous council chiefs able to run for grand chief (an even smaller pool), well it’s not a surprise that you have a mixed bag of candidates at varying levels.

But aside from the list, the electrical officer also came in, guns blazing, and decided it was a good idea to allow online voting, even though it wasn’t previously approved to be an accepted form.

This caused even more controversy and division, and it was only this week, a month before the election, that Graeme Drew relented. Online voting is out.

To add to the confusion and mistrust, candidates are allowed to run for both chief and grand chief, instead of choosing between both of those positions, something that took many by surprise but which the code does not prohibit.

Serge Otsi Simon was listed on both and could run for both.

It isn’t allowed here in Kahnawake for good reason. You have to choose to be successful or fail at one only, and not be allowed to hedge your bets and sit on council even if you fail as grand chief.

If anyone in the future were elected to both positions it would further complicate the election process - a ridiculous scenario that undermines the very process the community is being asked to buy into.

The current chiefs have been accused of many things, most notably waiting too long to call an election, and for good reason. Why did they wait? The community has a right to ask.

In the future, no matter who gets in, anyone in office has to be more orderly, or they are open to ridicule. And any chief needs to ensure they know how to spell transparency.

John Canatonquin is retiring but every other one on the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake is running again, so it will be interesting to see what the fallout is from this term, if any.

The core five, as they are called, certainly sat on their hands moving laws and other important issues forward until the last minute, but the grand chief also did very little but try to rally his supporters against them.

There was a huge leadership void and with the same people running, no matter who gets in, we can only hope that trend does not continue.

But it’s the same old issue in Kanesatake/Kanehsatake: If you hate someone for whatever reason, big or small, you have to keep hating them until you die.

It’s the unwritten, childish, unprofessional way for far too many. And it hurts everyone.

There is very little conflict resolution, personal accountability, and transparency that comes with being good leaders, and if they are really thinking about the people, they need to show it in a big way by working together for the entire community, not just their own interests.

We are willing to start anew with anyone who is elected and sit down to discuss what it is we do - writing stories, celebrating our accomplishments, and fighting for a better tomorrow.

But the lack of returned phone calls from the grand chief, when we ask him for his clear position on things, is not the answer. And it is certainly not leading.

Let’s hope for a better council, but let’s also demand it.

The people deserve leaders who fight for them instead of against them; ones who can leave bad feelings in the past and build on a brighter future with the people in front of them.

Steve Bonspiel

The Eastern Door