The Junaluska Leadership Council (JLC) is hosting a Meet the Candidates forum in the Tribal Council Chambers on Monday, May 23 from 9am – 12pm. The forum will be for candidates for Principal Chief and Vice Chief for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The JLC has been holding a televised Meet the Candidates for some years now, but this year is extra exciting because over half of the students sitting around the horseshoe in the Council Chambers will be voting for the first time in July. So, not only will the community be meeting the candidates and weighing their issues, these first time voters will be doing the same and will make the decision themselves.
Some of the top issues for JLC members include: environmental, education and its importance in politics, youth initiatives, and economic growth opportunities for the Tribe outside of the casino.
JLC members held a meeting and chose the following standard questions to ask each candidate:
1. What education/degree do you have and in what field do you have them in? Do you feel it is important to have a higher education in the position you are running for?
2. What environmental issues do you feel need to be improved upon and what actions would you take to improve those issues?
3. Give three examples of youth- based initiatives you would like to implement during your administration?
4. How would you get away from the casino as the Tribes main source of revenue and look at alternative source for economic growth opportunities?
There may be time at the end of the agenda for the students to ask further questions. The main goal of JLC is to allow time for the youth of the community to meet each candidate and to get their perspective/views on issues important to youth. Junaluska Leadership is made up of a collective group of youth from various backgrounds and school experiences. While they are all EBCI tribal members, they attend different schools and have experienced different things.
– Junaluska Leadership Council
