Joe Shirley Jr. (AP photo)
The Navajo Election Administration has formally backed presidential term limits, in a legal brief submitted late yesterday on its behalf to the Navajo Supreme Court.
Jason Begay of the Navajo Times writes here that the brief is the Election agency’s response to President Joe Shirley Jr.’s attempts to run for a third term:
“The reason for the term limit was to address the concentration of power determined to be the central cause of the governmental crisis,” states the brief, which was prepared by Scottsdale, Ariz., attorney Michael Upshaw. “As such, it is not arbitrary and is not simply a response to one person.”
The limits are actually “reasonable public policy,” and based on “strong and substantial public interest to implement checks and balances to avoid a repeat of such concentration of power,” the brief states.
Shirley has claimed term limits violate his civil rights by restricting him to run for public office.
The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case next Friday, July 9, at 10 a.m. in the Navajo Nation Museum auditorium.
Gwen Florio
Tags: buffalo post, Dine, Gwen Florio, Joe Shirley Jr., Michael Upshaw, Native American news, Navajo Election Administration, Navajo Nation, Navajo Supreme Court
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on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 2:02 pm and is filed under Dine, Native politics, Navajo.
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