Voters narrow candidates in FDL primary

Fond du Lac Band members in District I and II voted Tuesday, June 9, in a primary election previously postponed by the coronavirus.

Candidates for Reservation Business Committee District I (Cloquet) representative included: Wally Dupuis (incumbent), Eugene (Eny) Reynolds, Todd J. Tidaback, Jeroam Defoe and Jarvis “Chubbs” Paro.

According to the official results posted Wednesday, Dupuis and Defoe were the top vote getters and are moving on to the general election, with Dupuis garnering 193 votes (49.11 percent) and Defoe 101 (25.7 percent).

In RBC District III (Brookston), there were three candidates: Phillip Savage, Roberta Fox and Roger M. Smith Sr. (incumbent). With 68 votes, Smith took more than 59 percent of the votes while Savage came in second, with 30 votes (26.3 percent).

Because Smith earned more than 50 percent of the votes, he was declared the winner and there will be no general election in August for District III.

Only two people filed for RBC Chairperson: Kevin Dupuis Sr. (incumbent) and Bryan “Bear” Bosto, so there was no primary election and the two candidates will face off in the general election on Aug. 18.

The Reservation implemented special procedures for in-person voting due to the pandemic. No more than five voters were allowed in each building during voter hours, and the floors were marked off to meet the 6-foot social distancing requirement. Voters were urged to wear face masks, and voting stations were cleaned before each use. Voters were also screened for COVID-19 symptoms before entering the polling stations. If they showed symptoms, they could vote in their vehicle or outside.

A total of 507 voters — under 30 percent of eligible voters — participated in the primary election.