A year of loss and resilience in the face of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez reflects on the successes and defeats of a year in the fight against COVID-19.
Trevor Hughes and Jasper Colt, USA TODAY
Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez is the first Native American from Arizona to run for Congress. He is running as a Democrat in the predominantly Republican 2nd Congressional District, but in a television interview on Thursday he said he already has experience working together across political camps.
“I grew up in a very conservative home, both parents were Republicans,” Nez said on KAET-TV Channel 8. “And I was taught to help as much as possible in life. Helping is not just a party thing, it means helping everyone. As president of the Navajo Nation, I have been able to reach out across party lines and get things done for the constituency I represent.”
Nez was scheduled to debate incumbent Republican Rep. Eli Crane, but Crane declined the network’s invitation, which has become standard practice for the incumbent.
Without debate, Nez participated in a brief interview with moderator Ted Simons, discussing various issues facing the 2nd District, his own political views and his background, which includes nearly 20 years of public service as a supervisor of the Navajo County Board, delegate, vice president and president of the Navajo Nation Council.
Simons immediately asked about the obvious advantage Crane has in the second district, where he has a lead of 30,000 Republican voters. After the district was redistricted, Republicans gained the upper hand, paving the way for Crane to defeat three-term Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran.
Simons noted that Crane’s campaign focused on “pro-growth policies” such as low taxes and less regulation. He asked Nez what issues he thought voters would want their candidate to address.
“I’ve traveled to areas like Kayenta and Prescott Valley, from the city of Maricopa to Globe. Many of the people are very passionate about water,” Nez said. “It’s about bringing water to these communities for the future. I’ve always been an advocate for water rights… for the county and the entire state of Arizona. We need to get our fair share of water from the Colorado River and save our precious groundwater.”
Congress needs to hold big corporations accountable and ensure rural families get ahead, he said. Simons asked what Nez’s quote “putting the needs of rural Arizonans above politics in Washington DC” meant.
“When I travel around the district, people want to be heard,” Nez said. “There is a huge divide across the country between Republicans and Democrats… We need to come together and work together. I remember a time when Congress worked together in a bipartisan way, and I’ve always worked together across party lines.”
Nez said he worked with Jack Smith, a former Yavapai County executive who challenged Crane for Congress but lost in the primary. Smith also faced no opponent at a debate hosted by The Arizona Republic in June after Crane again failed to respond to an invitation.
“I remember my opponent’s challenger, Jack Smith, served on the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors. During my tenure there, we worked together to get things done for the people of our district,” Nez said.
Nez noted that he had chosen Republican Myron Lizer as his running mate when he led the Navajo Nation. Lizer, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, had sought to run against Crane in the 2nd District in 2022 but failed to make it onto the ballot.
In an interview with The Republic after Thursday night’s segment, Nez emphasized his ability to bring people together and get things done, regardless of their political party.
“I had a Republican vice president and we were able to get things done,” Nez said. “I know it was controversial, but we understood that we had to get into the governments of their respective administrations, and Lizer did that in the first two years under the Trump administration and I was able to do that under the Biden administration. And look what we accomplished. We provided a historic amount of funding and resources to the Navajo people.”
How networking helps applicants
Nez credited his nearly two decades of public service with building a strong network that has been instrumental in his political career. He compared his ability to collaborate and garner support to that of his opponent, who he said came to office with no network. That lack of connections is why his opponent has struggled to secure resources for his constituents, Nez said, while shifting blame for his failures onto others.
“A network or friends help you get things done in the long run,” Nez told The Republic. “My opponent had no network, he just jumped into the race for office, got elected, but couldn’t get anything done because he had no network. With our network, we are prepared to work for the voters in the district, and that means for those who didn’t vote for me. We know people who can get things done for our district.”
This is the first time a Native American candidate from Arizona has made it past the primary in a congressional race. Nez sees his status as a sign of people’s confidence in his chances of success as a candidate. Rather than rest on his laurels, Nez said he has used the opportunity to support other candidates, such as newly elected New Mexico Rep. Paulene Abeyta, by visiting them as they campaign for their own offices.
“We were able to support some great candidates,” Nez said. “As an unopposed candidate, I was able to help others advance in the primary election instead of having to muddle through. We were able to watch the results come in and the people we supported win their elections. That was encouraging and inspiring to me because we need to continue to build on the network we’ve built over our 18 years of public service.”
Nez defends his record on COVID and other issues
Simons asked Nez why he thought he lost his re-election bid as president of the Navajo Nation. Nez, who lost to current President Buu Nygren by 3,551 votes, attributed his defeat to the strict COVID-19 regulations he implemented during his term.
“I took very strict measures during the pandemic, and that was a huge divide,” Nez said. “My opponent at the time received so much support from across the Navajo Nation, and I kept my campaign at the grassroots level. Today, there is a change of heart, and I think they miss us.”
Just over a year into his presidency, Nez and his administration were forced to shift their focus as the tribe became one of the hardest hit by the emerging and deadly COVID-19 pandemic, during which time masks were mandated, 57-hour curfews were imposed and businesses were forced to close.
Less than a month after Nez left office, the new government lifted the mask requirement, marking the beginning of the dismantling of COVID-19 measures introduced by the Nez government.
“Your opponent is against mask mandates, against COVID vaccination mandates and against everything you’ve been involved in in the nation,” Simons said. “How do you reconcile that? How do you represent voters in this district who think ‘he has the right idea’?”
Nez said he has listened to health and science experts during his presidency and has done so.
“We were able to save lives,” Nez said. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t about re-election, it was about saving lives.”
Uranium mine threatens Navajo people
The conversation turned to uranium mining and the Navajo Nation’s recent opposition to Energy Fuels Inc. for transporting uranium ore through tribal lands. Simons noted that Crane has spoken out against President Joe Biden’s creation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The monument is intended not only to preserve Native American cultural sites but also to protect the region from new uranium mining.
“Biden is shamelessly politicizing the Grand Canyon to appease the radical left. Uranium is critical to national security and this action makes us more dependent on foreign nations,” Crane posted on X, formerly Twitter. Simons asked Nez how he reacted to Crane’s views on the issue.
Nez said he invited Crane to visit northern Arizona, where abandoned uranium mines still pose a health risk to many residents. Nez said his administration successfully established the first cancer treatment hospital on a tribal reservation and brought it to the Navajo Nation.
“We must compel the federal government to clean up these uranium mines,” Nez said.
Nez said he would like to compare his accomplishments as Navajo president to Crane’s accomplishments in getting things done.
“It’s not about Republicans, independents or Democrats, it’s about the people,” Nez said. “I have a history, I compare my work to Eli Crane’s at any time because we’ve seen results from what I’ve done. Eli Crane has been in office for a year and a half and yet we have no results from his time in office.”
Nez said everyone needs to go out and vote.
“We want Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives, to look like America, but diverse,” Nez said. “Arizona has the chance to send the first Native American from Arizona to the House of Representatives. Our neighbors in New Mexico did that with Deb Haaland, and now she’s Secretary of the Interior. Diversity is good. Diversity is necessary to govern this country.”
Arlyssa D. Becenti covers indigenous issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Send ideas and tips to [email protected].
