In 2003 I ran for political office.  I was a candidate vying for a seat on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, and  I learned s ome stuff about tribal politics that I’d like to share.  So without further adieu, I hereby dedicate this week’s post to tribal communities everywhere and their political candidate hopefuls.  Here is my top ten lessons-learned during the 2003 campaign season:

1. “Big families” mean “more votes”.  The largest families typically hold the lion’s-share of strategic political power on our reservation.   This being the case, it didn’t take “rocket science” for me to realize the odds were considerably stacked against me.  With only seven direct relatives at proper voting age (at least 18 years old), I hail from the second smallest family line at Mashantucket. You can easily fit all of us into one mini-van.
2. I did alright.  When everything was tallied I received 45 votes, landing somewhere in the middle of all the candidate vote totals.  It was not enough to win, but with approximately 20% of the overall vote, I have to admit it wasn’t bad for a first-time campaign.  And I can now cross “run for office” off my bucket list.
3. 45 Votes may as well be 4 votes because they still won’t win an election.  From what I’ve observed, it takes between 80-120 votes to win a tribal council seat – depending on how many candidates are running, how many seats are vacant, and how many voters show up that first Sunday in November before polls close at noon.
4. Every year, there are “secret deals”.  Alliances are commonly forged privately between one or more mid-sized family candidates and larger-family representatives.  Basically what happens is this: candidate “A” seeks support from council members representing the largest family line, offering his or her unequivocal political allegiance in exchange for whatever number of votes is needed to win.
5. “Secret deals” aggravate me.  I just can’t bring myself to align politically with people in “power”.   A former chairman once confronted me about it privately when he was still in office. “We don’t support placing you in a leadership position because we don’t know where you stand politically,” he declared, matter-of-factly.  I quipped right back: “If you or anyone else wants to know ‘where I stand’ on any political matter, all you need to do is ask me and I will tell you.”  He wasn’t fond of my abrupt honesty.  I simply doubt that it’s in my tribe’s best interest for any candidate to promise their unwavering support to a dictatorship without regard to the potential outcome such support may b ring.  I believe doing so lowers one’s standard of ethics considerably, focusing instead on power brokering, scoring titles or raking in a much higher paycheck.  When such “deals” are done, their outcome always points to a manipulative, fear-based style of leadership. Frankly, I’d rather sleep at night.
6. People who feel threatened by you will do really stupid things.  I paid way too much for ten double-sided campaign signs, only to discover that all but one were completely destroyed by the vandalism of strategic knife-slashes, burn marks, tire treads, and the sharpie-inflicted “enhancements” of mustaches, F-bombs and smatterings of other colorful expletives.  Mind you, that’s in addition to all the wildly half-baked gossip that kept bumbling its way back to me.  It’s amazing how inventive lies can become.
7. Campaigning can be hazardous to your health.  Yes, the rumors are true.  Some candidates have indeed received “threats”.  A few have even dodged potentially harmful or even fatal “accidents”.  For instance, in 2003 one candidate shared with me a threatening hand-written note she received.  It was tied to a rock that shattered her living room window, warning her to drop out of the race …or else.  Another candidate walked out to his vehicle one night after a long meeting and discovered his severed brake-line with the fluid trickling down to the moonlit pavement below.  I know because I was there.
8. Half of the people who promise to vote for you actually will.  If you are a hopeful candidate this season, please heed these words of advice.   When people shower you with smiles, compliments, shoulder-pats and hugs, promises to “have your back” in the voting booth and other random “feel-good” fluffy stuff… For the love of all common-sense and decency don’t fall for that crap!   And to all of the folks out there who get their kicks from pumping candidates’ heads full of sanctimonious euphoric nonsense – stop it!  Have enough courage to represent the real you.  If you cannot commit, then do not promise that you will.
9. Losing an election can be the best thing that ever happened to you.   In my situation, I went right back to school and finished two degrees that I might never have achieved had I won that election.  And with the added perspective gained from several years working with my tribe’s constitution review team, I can see that the root of our political problems is directly linked to the governing foundation spelled out in my tribe’s constitution.  At Mashantucket, all powers of government are centralized into one branch – a tribal council of seven people.  Because they hold this magnitude of power, the tribal council can do whatever they want with whatever funds or resources they choose whenever they feel like it.   So just imagine for a moment what would happen if a tribe had no checks and balances on its government power, while hundreds of millions of dollars filter down from their casino through one group of seven leaders every year for 20 straight years.  Would those seven leaders have the strength to uphold integrity rather than yield to fear and temptation?
10. You don’t need a leadership position in order to make a difference.  Some of the most powerful leaders in world history have been those who were not holding leadership positions when they wielded the most influence, overcame unbelievable odds, and radically disrupted the status quo of dictatorships.  Moses contended with Pharaoh and won freedom for Israel.  Martin Luther challenged Catholicism and the Protestant church was born.  Rosa Parks rebelled against racist laws by not moving to the back of a bus. Helen Keller was so influential with advocating women’s rights that she was placed on the FBI’s “watch list” despite being blind, deaf and mute.  And a boy named David once hurled a small stone at a giant warrior, killing him instantly in front of  his own army cowering in fear, decades before he was crowned King.   All of them “underdogs”.  All of them championed their values no matter what the cost.  And all of them were history makers.