Consensus reached on Election Law amendments

03/21/2012

The Kahnawà:ke Legislative Coordinating Commission announced that consensus was reached at last evening’s Community Consultation on proposed amendments to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Election Law.

The scope, purpose and intent were clarified and the list of amendments finalized. A working group will be created to begin the process of drafting the amendments, which will include technicians, three community members and an alternate selected by the meeting’s participants. The community members are Matthew Stacey, Lori Jacobs and Angus L. Montour. Joanne Patton is the alternate.

The list of amendments includes criteria for candidates; chiefs’ accountability; the number of Council Chiefs; and the creation of consistency between the Election Law and the Kahnawà:ke Membership Law.

“I think we were pleasantly surprised that we reached this point in the process so quickly,” said Commission Coordinator Kahente Horn-Miller. “Once again, though the numbers weren’t overwhelming, I was extremely impressed with the level of participation by those present. Last night’s meeting was quite successful, both in terms of consensus-building and the respectful and positive manner that people displayed.”

The minutes and other information from last night’s meeting will be made available shortly on this website. Copies of the current law, the community consultation feedback report, and other relevant information are available on the site as well.