Leech Lake members to hold run-off election Tuesday

Members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will head to the polls Tuesday to choose a new secretary-treasurer and District 1 Representative.

The election process began on April 1, with three openings on the ballot and 25 candidates competing for the positions of District 1 representative, District 2 representative and secretary-treasurer.

In that round of voting, band members picked incumbent Steve White as District 2 representative with more than 51 percent of the vote. However the other two races for District 1 and secretary-treasurer were too close to call and forced the run-off election Tuesday.

According to Election Chair Ben White, decision making is easier at this stage in the election process because there are fewer candidates on the ballot.

Incumbent Secretary-Treasurer Donald "Mick" Finn is running against Arthur "Archie" LaRose. James Howard and Penny DeVault are running for District 1 representative.

There are polling places throughout the reservation as well as at Bemidji City Hall, Trepanier Hall in Duluth and the Minneapolis American Indian Center. All polling places will be open to Leech Lake members from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.