HOOPA COUNCIL SEEKS TO OUST CHAIRMAN
Council alleges Davis failed to disclose conflicts of interest, neglected duties
“I won the last election outright by a wide margin and the Tribal Membership still supports me very strongly. Nothing in the charges rises to a level of me needing to be removed.” — Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Joe Davis
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council is trying to remove its chairman, Joe Davis, from the job after accusing him of gross negligence and neglect of duty.
Davis was accused of approving loans to tribal members without the council's approval, doing the opposite of explicit instructions from the council on human resource matters, failing to disclose conflicts of interest, hampering the tribe's ability to post on its website and neglecting oversight of tribal departments, including the finance program.
“Examples include his delegation of supervision over an employee when he deemed he had a conflict of interest in supervising that employee in violation of Tribal law, approving loans for several Tribal members when they were required to be approved by the Tribal Council, and circumventing the requirements that the Vice Chairman handle the affairs of the Tribe when the Chairman is out on travel,” a memorandum summarizing the charges said.
Vice Chairman Everett Colegrove and executive secretary Amber Turner did not respond to a request for comment by the Times-Standard's print deadline.
The memorandum also detailed an incident when the tribal council twice directed the chairman on “an employment matter,” only for him to “do the exact opposite of what was directed.” The memorandum gave no further details about this incident.
Davis said he would respond to the allegations in full at the Feb. 29 meeting, and he has received the letter of charges.
“I plan to defend myself using the laws and policies of the Tribe, an appeal to justice, and by asking the Tribal Council to do right by the Tribal Membership. I won the last election outright by a wide margin and the Tribal Membership still supports me very strongly. Nothing in the charges rises to a level of me needing to be removed. I look forward to justice and
the full truth coming out at the hearing so that we can put this behind us and move forward as a Tribe who has much bigger issues to tackle than our own personal vendettas and political aspirations,” Davis said via email.
The council, which began the removal process Feb. 13, will convene at a special meeting at 10 a.m. Feb. 29 in the tribal council chambers to discuss ousting Davis.
The memorandum can be read in full at https:// bit.ly/4bKPoy4.