Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

It was ruled by the Lumbee Supreme Court on Tuesday September 1, 2015, that current Tribal Chairman Paul Brooks can seek re-election to a third term, despite it being stated in the constitution that a maximum of two, three-year terms can be served. Brooks was elected to a one-year term in 2011 to fill in for the former Chairman Purnell Swett after Swett resigned. Brooks then won his own three-year term in 2012 and has been serving ever since. If Brooks wins in the 2015 election, his term will be shortened to two years, giving him a total of the normal maximum of six years in office.

The Lumbee Supreme Court ruled that the Tribal Elections Board made a mistake in the 2011 election, stating that Brooks should’ve been put in office for three years at that point instead of just one year. This ruling came one day after the Tribal Elections Board had told Brooks he did not qualify to run for re-election in 2015.

Elections Board Chairman Sheila Beck said she would like for the Lumbee Supreme Court to instruct her how to proceed if Brooks is re-elected. She said that the court is breaking the rules and predicts that, if Brooks wins the 2015 election, the Lumbee Supreme Court, along with the Elections Board, will be in the same place in two years.