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Tohono O'odham Nation chooses new leader amid casino conflict

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Ed Manuel. Photo from campaign site

The Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona has a new leader but local officials don't believe the tribe's controversial casino project will be affected.

Voters returned former chairman Edward D. Manuel to the tribe's top post on Saturday, according to the official results. He defeated Ned Norris Jr., who pushed hard for the West Valley Resort that's now under construction in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix.

Manuel hasn't commented to the media about his views on the project. But officials in Glendale don't foresee any major issues -- the tribe and the city have a government-to-government agreement that addresses revenue sharing and other issues.

Artist's rendering of the West Valley Resort under construction in Arizona. Image from Facebook

As the new chairman, Manuel will have to deal with pending litigation from the state of Arizona and two rival tribes that operate casinos in the Phoenix area. The Gila River Indian Community and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community also saw leadership changes in the last year, The Glendale Daily News-Sun reported.

Those two tribes are lobbying strongly for Keep the Promise Act (H.R.308 and S.152). The bill prevents the Tohono O'odham Nation from using its trust land for the casino and could come up for a vote in the House and the Senate any day.

The tribe has said the initial phase of the casino will open later this year.

Get the Story:
Glendale leaders see no shift in casino project with voters’ ouster of tribal head (The Glendale Daily News-Sun 5/28)
Tohono O’odham Voters Return Former Chair to Top Job (Arizona Public Media 5/28)

An Opinion:
Blake Morlock: $8.5 billion in gaming later, how are tribes doing? (The Tucson Sentinel 5/28)