INDIAN ISLAND, Maine — Kirk Francis, 45, was re-elected chief of the Penobscot Indian Nation over the weekend, according to election results sent to the Bangor Daily News on Monday.
Francis, who has been chief for eight years, was re-elected with 313 votes, defeating former chief Barry Dana, who had 155 votes.
“Credit goes to a whole lot of folks,” Francis said Monday. “When I get elected, it’s not about me, it’s about our administration, the community, the staff, everybody that’s working hard to accomplish our agenda.”
Building the economy remains at the top of the agenda, he said.
“The continued focus is making sure we take an unemployment rate that is over double the state average and reduce that significantly over the next few years,” he said.
The other issue on Francis’ mind going into his fourth term is what he described as “our constant challenge to our right to self govern.”
He said the tribe is “pushing back with a federal lawsuit” and “enhancing relationship with United States Congress.”
In 2012, the Penobscot Indian Nation sued the Maine attorney general and the heads of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Warden Service over who has authority over the waters of the Penobscot River surrounding the reservation.
Earlier this year, the federal government was granted permission to join the Penobscot Indian Nation in its lawsuit against the state.
“We have indigenous treaty rights that need to be respected,” Francis said Monday.
Francis was elected for his fourth consecutive term. He was elected twice to two-year terms, then a four-year term when the tribe switched to four-year terms in 2010.
Dana had served as chief of the tribe from 2000 to 2004.
Vice Chief William Thompson, who ran uncontested, also was re-elected.
