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Published On: Mon, Aug 27th, 2012

Reports of Political fights between Navajo Lawmakers and NHA

Aug 27 | The Navajo Post

WINDOW ROCK – According to a press release, the Navajo Housing Authority (NHA) filed a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the Window Rock District Court on Aug 22. against the Resources and Development Committee (RDC) of the Navajo Nation Council and its members. Today, that complaint may be heard.

NHA Board of Chair Edward T. Begay, pleads to the Navajo President to step in (Read the Letter)

According to NHA: (read the full PR below)

The Navajo Housing Authority, as the Tribally Designated Housing Entity for the Navajo Nation, is authorized to develop and submit a housing plan for the use of federal Indian Housing Block Grant funding, which amounts to about $90 million a year.  The development of the plan includes public advertising, proposal submissions and proposal evaluations every year.  The finalized plan is then approved by the NHA Board of Commissioners, then the RDC Committee and then finally signed by the Navajo Nation President before it is sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The 20-page complaint requesting an injunction was filed yesterday in response to two members of the RCD committee, Leonard Tsosie and Katherine Benally, who “… have constantly been attempting to control, interfere with, and manipulate the NHA, its administrative staff and the NHA Board of Commissioners through various harassing, intimidating, and coercive means and methods,” the complaint reads.

“Because of the NHA’s resistance to Benally’s and Tsosie’s control and manipulation efforts, Benally and Tsosie have created constant and frequent friction with the NHA, its staff, and its Board of Commissioners,” the injunction request reads.

Edward T. Begay, Chairman of the NHA Board of Commissioners said: “When we were appointed, we were sworn in by a judge.  We hold our appointments as very sacred.  We consider it as if a medicine man gave us precious stone – Yóó’.  Yet Tsosie and Benally treats us like we are nobody yelling at us and calling us incompetent.  Benally admitted that she was guilty as charged.  They don’t want to do things right.  The changes they made to the IHP were very arbitrary.  We objected but no one listened.  We now need to take legal action to be heard about the abuses of power by Benally and Tsosie.”

Both Benally and Tsosie are also attempting to remove NHA board members, to get their way.

In an affidavit filed with the motion for injunction, Board Chairman Begay also said that Benally and Tsosie were infuriated after a July 26th Naa’bik’iyáti’ committee meeting in which delegates discussed taking over the approval of the Indian Housing Plan (IHP) from their committee, the RDC committee.

Chairman Begay stated, “During the July 26, 2012 Naa’bik’iyáti’ Committee meeting, I believe the majority of the delegates who spoke stated that they wanted to move the authority to approve the IHP from the RDC to the Naa’bik’iyáti’ Committee.  It appeared to me that Benally and Tsosie were infuriated by the comments made by the Naa’bik’iyáti’ Committee regarding Benally and Tsosie’s actions.  It is my belief that in retaliation, four days after the July 26, 2012 Naa’bik’iyáti’ Committee meeting, Benally and Tsosie initiated efforts to appoint new members to the NHA Board of Commissioners and replace or remove current sitting members.”

The complaint asks, “the court enter a judgment declaring that: In enacting resolutions to appoint the New Members, Defendants has acted unlawfully, exceeded their lawful authority, and frustrated the efforts of Plaintiffs to fully exercise their rights and privileges as board members of NHA;  In doing so, Defendants violated statutory provisions of Navajo law, including violation of Plaintiffs’ fundamental rights afforded under the Navajo Bill of Rights, and Navajo traditional law; Therefore, the resolutions appointing the New Members are invalid and ineffective as a matter of law.”

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Reports of Political fights between Navajo Lawmakers and NHA