Delmar Jones III Hoping to Be Next Leech Lake District III Representative

Members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will vote in two important elections this spring on who the next Leech Lake Chairperson will be, as well as their District III Representative.

14 band members have registered to fill the District III seat currently held by LeRoy Staples Fairbanks III, who declared last year that he would not run for office again in 2024. Delmar Jones III is hoping to become that next representative, who outlined to Lakeland News what he wants to do if elected.

“The first is focusing upon our employees. I plan to revise and fix Leech Lake Band and Leech Lake gaming policy to protect our employees,” said Jones. “The second aspect is to remove salary caps and wage caps from our longest and most dedicated employees. The third is actually increasing wages $1 an hour across the board for all Leech Lake employees enrolled or not. $2,000 a year provides families options. When they have more options, we have more ability to help feed our families, provide happy, healthy homes for our next generations.”

A primary election will be held on April 2 for the District III Representative and Tribal Chairperson races if there are more than two eligible candidates for each open position. The general election is set for June 11.