Ruling: Longtime Leech Lake Secretary/Treasurer Cannot Run for Re-Election

Longtime Leech Lake Tribal Secretary and Treasurer Arthur “Archie” LaRose cannot run for re-election, according to a decision from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe’s Tribal Election Court of Appeals.

The court ruled that LaRose is ineligible to run as a candidate because LaRose was convicted of a felony for third-degree assault in 1992.

The district court judge at the time allowed LaRose to receive a stay of imposition for three years on certain conditions. If LaRose met those conditions, his felony conviction would be converted to a misdemeanor on his record in 1995.

LaRose’s criminal record now reflects that his conviction is deemed a misdemeanor. But the Court of Appeals ruled that doesn’t change the fact that LaRose was convicted of a felony in 1992. Because a person with a felony conviction is ineligible to run for office within the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, that makes LaRose ineligible as a candidate for the positions of Leech Lake Secretary/Treasurer.

LaRose was elected to his current position as Secretary/Treasurer in 2014. Previously, he served as Chairman of the band from 2008 to 2012.