Speaking with Tribal Council candidate Jason Burnett

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is holding a primary to fill two vacancies on the Tribal Council, the position of chair and a committee person. 

The Grand Portage community lost its long-time leader when Chair Norman Deschampe died on February 9, 2019. A special election was announced to fill that vacancy.

Tribal Council Vice-Chair Marie Spry is serving as Interim Tribal Chair and she filed to run for the chair position. To do so, she resigned from her committeeperson seat, creating an opening for a committeeperson.

That means there are two Tribal Council positions on the ballot for the April 29 primary. The primary will narrow the candidate field to two people on the ballot for the July 1 special election. 

WTIP has reached out to all of the candidates to offer the opportunity to be heard. The interviews will be aired in the order we hear from candidates.

Click on a candidate's name below for a link to their interview when it becomes available. 

Candidates for Committeperson are:
Rick Anderson
Jason Burnett
Vallen Cook
Rob Hull

Candidates for Chair are:
Marie Spry
Beth Drost
Tony Swader
Donavan Dahmen

Here's WTIP's Rhonda Silence with candidate for Tribal Council committeeperson, Jason Burnett