Content about candidates

Foot traffic at the Osage Congressional candidate campsites died down after the lunch hour, but steady streams of voters were still making their way to the polls after 1 p.m.

More than 15 people stood in the Congressional chambers lobby waiting for their ballots from Election Office staff and volunteers who manned the front door. Voters then took their ballots into the chambers, which had individual booth spots set up for voting.

The 2012 Osage Nation General Election is history with the polls closing at 8 p.m. and the ballot counting underway.

Hundreds of Osages filed into the Congressional chambers throughout the day to cast ballots in the election determining which six Osages will sit on the Third Osage Nation Congress. Those who are elected will take oath of office next month.

As the dinnertime hours passed, some candidates said they had yet to vote at the polls but planned to do so before the doors were locked.

The Osage News asked the Osage 2012 candidates why the Osage People should vote for them. This is the final question to all candidates before Election Day as a part of our Osage News Weekly Roundup series.

We allowed the candidates up to 300 words to answer. Their answers are published in the order they were received. Candidates are not required to participate in the series.

Olivia “Libbi” Gray

Virginia Kelderman began noticing campaign signs around Pawhuska but had no idea who the candidates were or what they were running for.

“I see a lot of signs on the streets and neighborhoods and I wonder who is running for what,” she said.   

Kelderman lives in Pawhuska, across the street from Osage candidate John Jech. 

“I see his signs on his lawn, and it looks really exciting,” she said. “But I don’t know how many seats are on the Osage Congress or how it is set up.”

Osages in New Mexico, California, Oklahoma and Pawhuska say they haven’t received their absentee ballots yet. The absentee ballot request deadline was May 15.

The Election Board asked Osage voters to allow five to seven business days to receive absentee ballots because Maryland-based TrueBallot Inc., the election company who conducted the 2010 Osage Election, is mailing the ballots. The five to seven days have passed and now Election Day is only four days away.

The Osage News asked the Osage 2012 candidates if they thought communication was something that needed to be improved within the Nation. This is the fifth in a series of questions that will be emailed to all candidates before Election Day as a part of our Osage News Weekly Roundup series.

We allowed the candidates up to 300 words to answer. Their answers are published in the order they were received. Candidates are not required to participate in the series.

The sixth and final Weekly Roundup question and answers will be published Friday (June 1).

My name is Justin Mays (Xu-ah Wa-kon-ta)

I am of the Strikeaxe family, who have always been active in Tribal government from the time of Chief Strikeaxe to the present day. My grandmother, Norma Jean Mays, was secretary to Chief Sylvester Tinker and also Chief George Tall Chief.

My parents, Paul & Marcella Mays, along with my brother, P.J. Mays have been in business in Osage County for 27 years. As a teenager, my first job was in the family business.

My name is Rose Mary Shaw and I am a candidate for Osage Nation Congress.  My intent is to have a positive campaign.  I look toward the future and not on the past.  We are a progressive people and have always adapted successfully to our environment as needed through the centuries.

ROSCOE MAYS (PeH-TseH-Han-KaH)( TSING-TSA-LI clan, or WOLF)

The Osage Nation Election Office has certified all 34 candidates for the Third ON Congress.

All candidates paid a $300 filing fee with the office, which conducted background checks on each candidate to search for any felonies on their records.

The Osage News conducted an online search to look for any candidate felonies at the Oklahoma state court and federal court levels within the past 10 years. No candidates were found to have any felony convictions, according to the record search.