Goshutes re-elect Bear as chairman

Leon Bear, the Goshute tribal chairman pushing to bring high-level nuclear waste to the Skull Valley Reservation, has been re-elected to a second four-year term.

Also elected was Lori B. Skivy, who defeated incumbent Vice Chairwoman Mary Allen.

A rumored challenge to Bear failed to materialize during elections Saturday.

Margene Bullcreek and Sammy Blackbear, leaders of the opposition to the nuclear waste plan, did not attend. They could not be reached for comment Monday. Earlier this month, Bullcreek said she wanted to unseat Bear because of his dealings with Private Fuel Storage.

PFS is a consortium of utilities that proposes shipping spent fuel to the reservation 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

In 1997, Bear signed a lease with PFS to allow the consortium to store the waste on the reservation,

The proposal, which is opposed by Gov. Mike Leavitt, is awaiting approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Bear says 85 percent of the tribe supports the PFS proposal. Blackbear alleges tribal members were bribed and threatened to gain their support. The accusations are part of a suit the opponents have filed to invalidate the Goshute-PFS lease.

Bear said Monday that he interprets his unopposed candidacy as a sign the tribe as a whole supports his leadership.

Thirty-seven of the tribe's 70 eligible members cast ballots in Saturday's election, which was held on the reservation. Most members live off the reservation, some out of state.