PLEASANT POINT, Maine —Voters of this Passamaquoddy Tribe community have recalled their chief, elevating the vice-chief into the top elected post, according to a prepared statement sent out Wednesday by the tribe.
The recall vote, held Monday, resulted in 280 tribal members voting to oust Frederick J. Moore III from office and to promote Vice-Chief Vera Francis into the chief’s position, according to the statement. Fifty-four of the 334 votes cast on Monday were in favor of retaining Moore as chief of the community, which also is known as Sipayik.
No reason for the recall vote was provided in the release.
In the statement, Francis said she is eager to take the reins of tribal government and to move things forward “in a positive and productive way.” She is expected to continue serving as chief until September 2018, when the position’s current four-year term comes to an end.
“Now that the people have taken this serious action, I humbly and graciously accept the challenges before me and will serve the members of Sipayik as faithfully and responsibly as I can,” Francis said in the statement. “We have a lot of unifying and restorative work ahead of us and it will not be easy, but we are survivors and we will emerge stronger.”
A message left Wednesday for Francis at the tribe’s administrative officers was not returned. Attempts to contact Moore and tribal Councilor Newell Lewey also were unsuccessful.
Moore, a former tribal representative to the state Legislature, had been serving as chief since being elected to the post in the fall of 2014.
