Lansing Casino petitioner announces Sault Tribe chairperson candidacy

NEWS RELEASE

AARON PAYMENT

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Lansing Casino petitioner officially announces Sault Tribe chairperson candidacy

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - Today, Aaron Payment, the former elected chairperson/ CEO for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians officially announced his candidacy for the position of Tribal chairperson.  

Payment served for eight years as a Tribal Board member, two terms as vice-chair and one four year term as Tribal chair.

He spent the last few years working as the executive director for another tribe and completing two masters degrees and his doctoral coursework and comprehensive exams.  

He was defeated in 2008 by Darwin “Joe” McCoy who then resigned as chairperson in 2011 with a year left in his term.  

Rather than fill the vacancy by election, the Tribal Board opted to fill it through appointment.  

According to an on-line poll Payment conducted, 81 percent of the members were not supportive of filling the vacancy without an election.

While over 8,000 votes are cast in a chair election, the individual appointed - Joe Eitrem drew about 2,000 votes when last elected to the Board and held no prior elected leadership positions.  

“Voters from Unit 2, 3, 4, 5 and a majority in Unit 1 were blocked from voting on our most important position. Voters now have the opportunity to correct this misstep,“ Payment asserted.

With drastic cuts to Tribal services, including a cut to the annual Elder checks from $1,600 to $575, Payment is running to restore services but also to reinstate the ‘helping hand’ approach to tribal governance that has been lost.  

Payment has been generally supportive but critical of a Lansing Casino deal; mostly due to the appointed chair’s failure to articulate a vision for how 85 percent of future net revenues will be spent from a Lansing Casino.

According to Payment: “Gaming tribes all across the country revenue sharing plans that take the mystery out of where the money goes as it is obligated for member benefit.”  

Payment’s revenue sharing plan includes a $3,000 per year elder dividend as a starting point.  

Additionally, Payment is committed to preservation of services in the UP, expanding tribal college scholarships, K-12 retention incentives, low interest loans for middle and low income Tribal members, a new and modern constitution, and eventual expansion of benefits to all members regardless of where they reside.

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