As they have for 212 years, members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation last week gathered together inside Southampton Town Hall in a democratic tradition to elect their leaders.

On Tuesday, April 6, Trustees Lance Gumbs and James Eleazer were reelected to the three-member board. Shinnecock Council Chairman Randy King also was elected as a Tribal Trustee, replacing departing trustee and chairman Charles Smith, who declined to run for reelection.

Mr. Gumbs was named the new chairman of the Tribal Trustees.

The new Tribal Trustee, Mr. King, 41, holds a bachelor's degree in communication arts from St. John's University and has been the manager of Gym Source on Windmill Lane in Southampton Village for the past 10 years. He has been a member of the Tribal Council for four years and was chairman for the past few months.

Mr. King, who grew up on the reservation, said he was gratified to be elected to the board. He said he would push for responsible economic development within the Nation and the affirmation of the tribe's sovereign rights.

"I'm worried about the same things everyone else in Southampton Town is worried about—the economy, competitive wages, the war in Iraq," he said. "But it's magnified for us—we're a government within a government. Southampton was a great place to grow up. I love my town, and I love my reservation."

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