The legal and political battle in Tahlequah continues as
Councilmembers Buel Anglen, Lee Keener, Jack Baker, Julia Coates and I take our lawsuit to Cherokee Nation Supreme Court.

The five of us are in the minority on Council with respect to policy issues and fiscal responsibility. Just because we are in the minority does not mean we should stop fighting to uphold our Constitution.

In 2010, I was one of two Councilmembers who fought to address significant changes in the Tribal population. I won the Court case in the Supreme Court five to zero. In Court, my lawsuit took on Chief Chad Smith, Tribal Election Commission and 15 other Councilmembers. Without the 2010 lawsuit, Rogers County would not be adequately represented in Tahlequah. We gained Councilman Lee Keener's seat on the Council because we proved we had a significant increase in Cherokee citizens.

We are fighting for all Cherokees. If we lose the court battle, several counties including Rogers and Tulsa County will lose political representation as well as Cherokee monies and resources.

During District Court, the Tahlequah political plan became apparent. The intent of the legislation is to prevent Councilman Buel Anglen from running for office in the June 22, 2013 election and assigns me to his district where I do not live. Then, I will likely be sued and removed from office for not living in the district they assigned me to knowing I do not live in that portion of Rogers County.

Once they remove me, it appears they will politically appoint my former opponent's son where they drew an odd line for one small neighborhood north of Catoosa Port road. There would be no election if less than two years remained in my four year term. The
gerrymandering for the one individual is not apparent on the vague map passed at Council.

If I am removed from office before my term ends in 2015, we will be in a Constitutional crisis. I was elected by 76% in 2011 for a four year term which is to last until August 14, 2015. Redistricting me out of office before 2015 by a vote of ten in Tahlequah is unconstitutional.

If we were to roll over and stop fighting as suggested by one local Cherokee, Rogers and Tulsa County Cherokees would be disenfranchised by ten politicians in Tahlequah.

Cherokee Nation District Judge overturned his own 2010 decision. In 2010, he ruled "Further, citizens names may not be arbitrarily stricken from the rolls in this apportionment simply because the mail
was returned as undeliverable or as having a "bad address"." Rogers and Tulsa County are being penalized for having 911 addressing which created scores of bad addresses and thus decreased our population by thousands of Cherokees.

Rogers County is divided into four districts which also serves Washington, Nowata, Tulsa and Mayes County.

The small northern portion of Tulsa County within the Tribe is divided into three districts which also serves Rogers, Washington and Nowata County. The small town of Skiatook is split into three districts.

If we do not win our Supreme Court case, Rogers and Tulsa County are not the only communities impacted. Mayes County is divided into four districts which also serves Rogers, Delaware and Ottawa County. Delaware County is divided into two districts which also serves Ottawa and Mayes County.

Cherokee County and Adair County district boundaries are just strange with a tear drop shape emerging by a thread from the northern portion of Cherokee County and a diagonal cut across Adair with a jump across the top to pick up a far corner which may or may not be attached to the district assigned the far corner.

Whether we have five or 15 districts, the Constitution is upheld as long as all Cherokees are counted whether they have a bad address or not with districts drawn which make physical sense.

I am term limited out in 2015 when my term ends. I am not fighting for my re-election. I am fighting for Rogers and Tulsa County and our Cherokee population. If this lawsuit fails, Rogers and Tulsa County will lose millions each year in monies for local non-profits, law enforcement, roads and bridges.

If you have questions, issues or concerns about the Cherokee Nation government, please email me at cara@caracowan.com or write me at P.O. Box 2922, Claremore, OK 74018. For daily news and event notices, ask to be added to my District 5 email listserv. You can, also, find me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Buel Anglen is at buelanglen@sbcglobal.net and Lee Keener is at lee-keener@cherokee.org.

To contact the Tribe, call (918) 453-5000. The operator will connect you with the appropriate department. Tribal programs and services are administered by the Chief's staff at the Tribal Complex. Tribal hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Save a trip to Tahlequah by using the Tribes Internet tools at www.cherokee.org. Almost all applications are available online to print from home.

Cara Cowan Watts, is an elected Tribal legislator of District 5 within the Cherokee Nation for Rogers and Tulsa Counties.

February 12, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ashley Kehl, Director of Communications
(405) 521.2161

Lt. Governor Lamb, State Chamber of Oklahoma Release
2013 Small Business and Small Manufacturer Legislative Agenda

Oklahoma City—Lt. Governor Todd Lamb joined State Chamber of Oklahoma President and CEO Fred Morgan and Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance President Chuck Prucha on Tuesday to announce the 2013 Small Business and Small Manufacturer Legislative Agenda.

The agenda stemmed from six Small Business and Small Manufacturer Summits held throughout Oklahoma in 2012. These summits were a partnership between the Lt. Governor’s office, the State Chamber of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and were held in the communities of Enid, Tulsa, Durant, Lawton, Bartlesville and Oklahoma City. As Oklahoma’s Small Business Advocate, Lt. Governor Lamb saw the importance of going straight to the source to find solutions. Small business and manufacturers leaders in these various communities provided feedback to the Lt. Governor regarding what barriers should be overcome to grow their business and move Oklahoma forward.

“Small business and small manufacturer owners are on the ground every day working hard to make Oklahoma strong,” said Lt. Governor Lamb. “As elected officials, we have the responsibility to remove any impediments to growth that stand in the way of a prosperous Oklahoma. The legislative agenda outlined today specifically addresses these obstacles and provides solutions that small business and small manufacturer owners can make a reality.”

The 2013 Small Business and Small Manufacturer Legislative Agenda includes recommendations in the areas of workers’ compensation, workforce development, taxation/economic development and unemployment compensation. This agenda will be used by small business and manufacturer leaders across the state to lobby the state legislature this legislative session. The agenda is as follows:

Workers’ Compensation
•Reduce the costs associated with Oklahoma’s system—Oklahoma is currently the 6th most expensive state to do business
•Find savings that result in more jobs
•Replace Oklahoma’s adversarial system with an administrative model of governance, which immediately pits an employee against an employer

Workforce Development

· Better develop a skilled workforce throughout Oklahoma

· Increase economic and job awareness programs in Oklahoma’s common education system

· Create a student safety net designed to encourage drop-outs to develop a skill or learn a trade

Taxation/Economic Development

· Implement policy to help Oklahoma remain competitive globally; specifically in six-state region

· Create a business-friendly climate, which translates into increased economic development

· Move determination of “manufacturer” to Department of Commerce, which will direct the Tax Commission to issue the Sales Tax Exemption Permit

Unemployment Compensation

· Reform the system and help reign in fraud, which causes employees to pay more money for unemployment and at the same time lowers benefits received by claimants

· Eliminate unemployment compensation benefits if ex-employee refuses job return offer

“These summits gave us an opportunity to hear directly from Oklahoma business owners about their challenges and impediments to growth,” said Fred Morgan. “It is critical we now take those challenges and work to find legislative solutions to help those businesses succeed, which will grow our state’s economy. That is what this small business agenda is all about. Two of our top legislative priorities this session will be finding a replacement to our broken workers’ compensation system and working to improve our state’s skilled workforce, both of which are a direct result of the input we received at the summits.”

"Small business is the backbone of our state's economy,” said Chuck Prucha. “The Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance was pleased to work with Lt. Governor Lamb, the State Chamber and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to help create a legislative agenda designed to grow Oklahoma's economy from the ground up, and that begins with our small business and manufacturing community.”

To further engage small business and small manufacturer leaders, the Lt. Governor will also host his annual Small Business Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, May 1. This day provides the opportunity to dialogue about improvements with legislators and statewide elected officials, build relationships, and learn more about valuable resources that are available to small business.

##

Collinsville 8th Grade Basketball Girls Are Metro Lakes Champs (for 2nd year in a row) -- Jim Riley -- Saturday 2/9/2013 at Claremore