Getting to LaPointe

James LaPointe is a candidate for District 3. At the end of his last term, he was given consequences for his behavior towards staff during the December 6, 2022 Tribal Council meeting during open session. His conduct can be seen in the video recording of that meeting. The way this candidate has voted in the past is also on record for research purposes. Please conduct your research on all candidates.

This candidate was accused of misconduct with the Lincoln Health Services building and the bidding process. This building cost the Ponca people way more than it should have and would have been cheaper to build from scratch. This building, costing millions of dollars more than expected, should make members ask more questions. This candidate says he is not finished with the Lincoln Health Services building yet. He wants to spend more of the Ponca dollars. The OSNI LLC recorded meeting on 10/28/2020 (Part 1) starting around 56 minutes discusses this candidate and his son's involvement with helping competitors get the bid instead of OSNI LLC, our tribe's business entity. This took funds out of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska's pockets and gave it away to competitors. Does this sound like someone who is for the members?

James LaPointe also pushed for benefits for tribal council reps to include 401K that would continue after a council representative left office. Lifetime benefits! Are tribal council representatives entitled to more than regular members? They get salaries starting at 54K yearly and up over 100K yearly. They have tried to get employer-paid benefits and lifetime benefits. Their work on the council is not even full-time. Several of them hold regular full-time jobs on top of being on the Tribal Council.

James LaPointe was also the treasurer for many years while on the tribal council. Financial records were not released to the members for almost a decade during his terms. A lifetime politician is not what this tribe needs. Transparency and accountability are what this tribe needs, and James LaPointe does not offer that.