SWINOMISH, Wash. – Brian Wilbur was elected March 15 to a five-year term on the Swinomish Senate, defeating five-term senator Lydia Charles.
Chester Cayou Sr., 86, was unopposed in his bid for a sixth term.
During the campaign, Charles cited her work for economic development as a reason for a sixth term. “I feel the dedication, knowledge and wisdom I’ve acquired while on the council will be a great asset to the Swinomish Tribal Community.”
But Wilbur, who has a business degree from the University of Washington, had a specific plan to “move the tribe forward in a meaningful way.”
During the campaign, Wilbur said he’d visit local schools regularly so he could be a better advocate for education. “Identifying the needs of kids and the schools that shape them is necessary for developing solutions to help kids succeed in school.”
Wilbur wants to invest more revenue from Swinomish’s business ventures on local health services and support for elders. And he proposes expanding opportunities for fishermen through Swinomish-sponsored guaranteed loan programs that can help fishermen acquire boats and permits so they can fish outside traditional and accustomed fishing areas.
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
– Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.
