Three incumbents retain seats on Tribal Council, two ousted
EMILY MESSER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months, 4 weeks AGO
Elder Shirley Trahan holds up her “I voted” sticker at the Mission Salish Senior Center after casting her vote on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Emily Messer/Leader)
Emily Messer joined the Lake County Leader in July of 2025 after earning a B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Montana. Emily grew up in the rolling hills of southeast Missouri. She's lived in Montana since 2022 and honed her reporting craft through the UM J-School newspaper and internships at the RMEF Bugle Magazine and the Missoulian. At the Leader, she covers government, business, education, agriculture and community news. Contact Emily Messer at [email protected] or 406.883.4343 | December 17, 2025 11:00 PM
Polls across the Flathead Reservation were open all day on Dec. 13 to fill the five seats open on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tribal Council.
Three incumbents retained their positions – Tom McDonald, Len TwoTeeth and Carol Depoe Lankford – while Jennifer Finley and Jim Malatare lost their respective races, according to final results posted on Dec. 17.
Certified results show the following tallies:
At-large: Incumbent Tom McDonald, 775; Sam Barnaby, 542.
Arlee: Incumbent Jim Malatare, 600; Greg Dumontier, 717.
Elmo: Incumbent Len TwoTeeth, 787; Louis-Junior-Caye, 541.
Polson: Incumbent Jennifer Finley, 560; Jami Pluff, 754.
Ronan: Incumbent Carole J. Depoe Lankford, 709; Ronald A Couture, 602.
While Lankford (Ronan), TwoTeeth (Elmo) and Dumontier (Arlee) lost their individual districts by 15 votes or less, each handily won the overall tally by sizable margins.
The winners will be sworn in at the quarterly meeting on Friday, Jan. 2. The sitting 10 council members will vote amongst themselves for the officer positions of Chair/Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
Elder Shirley Trahan casts her vote at the Mission Salish Senior Center on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Emily Messer/Leader)
ARTICLES BY EMILY MESSER
Looking Forward: A Note from Your New Editor
I would like to take this opportunity to officially introduce myself. My name is Emily Messer, and I am honored to be taking on the role of editor at the Lake County Leader.
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