Jeri DeCola resigned as chair of the Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona on September 30.

DeCola was facing a removal vote by the tribal council for a drinking incident at the tribe's casino. Had she been removed, she wouldn't be able to run for office for 10 years.

Rather than face those sanctions, DeCola resigned and said she might run again for chair. She was the first woman to lead the tribe when she was elected in 1986. As vice chair in 1999, she was forced out of office for a drunken-driving conviction.

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Tribal chair quits (The Payson Roundup 10/7)