Two men claim control of San Ildefonso Pueblo

Monday, February 25, 2008  

A leadership dispute at San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico heightened with the results of a new election on Saturday.

Male tribal members said they elected Leon T. Roybal as governor. Paul Rainbird was elected first lieutenant governor.

But Martin W. Aguilar Jr. says he is still in charge. He says the election and an earlier vote to oust him from office are illegal.

Aguilar came into power last fall after former governor James Mountain was arrested on a rape charge. The charge has since been dropped.

Some tribal members say Aguilar was supposed to call a new election in 2008. "I'm still governor," Aguilar told The Albuquerque Journal.

Get the Story:
Pueblo elects new tribal leaders (The Santa Fe New Mexican 2/24)
2 Claim to Be Pueblo Leader (The Albuquerque Journal 2/24)

Leadership dispute stirs San Ildefonso Pueblo (2/22)