ADP Environmental Council – Zoom meeting August 15, 2021
Co-hosted by Rebecca Hinton and Nick Arnold with guests Missa Foy-Jentoft (Navaho County Democrats
Chair) and Priscilla Weaver Tiisnazbas (Apache County Democrats Chair).
Missa and Priscilla described how the Democrats of the sovereign nations of Navaho and Apache
counties worked together in 2020 to get out the vote:
- Their efforts led to the Democratic win for Joe Biden and Mark Kelly as seen in the two maps at
the bottom of this report. Note that the blue areas in the left map (precincts that voted
Democratic) and the tan areas in the right map (tribal lands) are a very close match. We would
not have had the same outcome without their efforts.
- A total of 30 organizers worked state-wide on the behalf of sovereign nations, which led to a big
2020 voter increase. Note: Apache County, especially, is strongly Democratic.
- Some of their actions, like “Dance to the Polls” received national attention.
- The 22 sovereign nation lands in AZ have a total area larger than the state of Indiana.
- Their focus areas are currently petitions for referendums and redistricting. Sound familiar?
- They are primarily self-funded (no DNC financial support), but do receive some ADP support.
- Their 2020 operations required a lot of “do it yourself” when they couldn’t get things like
campaign signs, and they discovered a well of talent and resources in their community.
- They had very strong native community support.
- COVID-19 interrupted many things, but was also responsible for freeing up one woman who
typically sold burritos on the street to become an organizer. Because she “knew everyone” and
they trusted her, she was very successful as an organizer.
- Bumper stickers were very popular with voters.
- Candidates often didn’t have offices, so used the road junctions where they put up signs.
People driving by would stop and ask for some signs to take and put up. As a result, they had
signs for Democrat candidates absolutely everywhere in both counties.
- They used social media and radio spots to inform voters about voting deadlines, how to fill out
their mail-in ballots, etc. There was far more PEVL use, but no increase in needs to cure ballots.
- VAN maps don’t work for them because of the great distances, so they knocked on every door
possible and left voting packets. Some organizers even slipped a couple of masks into packets.
- Since the election, they have continued to work on community needs (like solar panels for
electricity, food for the homebound, access to water) and the people can see that they’re
committed to a better life for all.
- They noted that 91% of Navahos have been vaccinated for COVID-19.
There were a number of questions:
- Were there any issues with down-ballot voting? None in Apache County because it is so heavily
Democratic. Navaho County is slightly Republican, but few Republican candidates ran down-
ballot, so they still have local office in Democrat’s hands.
- How did they use family involvement? The matriarchs were used to educate younger members
and get them on board. Children and young people who can read and write English helped their
elders translate the ballots from English to Navaho, for example, and back again.
- Can they use volunteers from other areas? Definitely, especially in the non-sovereign and
unincorporated areas.
- How are they using the 1530 program? I don’t know what that is, but they responded with
information about how they’re using a hired organizer (one of several in the state).
- What do the sovereign nations need from the AZ Corporation Commission’s Just and Equitable
docket which is now open? They listed many things: protection from fracking damage; support
for Bears Ears Monument; education about ballot terminology on ACC issues; access to water
for livestock; support for the Navaho Nation EPA; funding restoration of the Navaho Generation
Station site; and cleanup of abandoned uranium mines.
Finally, they noted that in 2018, they could not get a candidate for mine supervisor to visit and address
any meetings. After their performance in 2020, they now have the clout to get some state-wide
candidate attention.
The September Zoom meeting will be on Sunday, Sept 19.
Submitted by Karolyn Switzer