Journal Staff Report

In a close three-way race, former council member Manuel Heart defeated incumbent Benjamin Lehi yesterday to regain his seat on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council, election official Stevie Height announced following the balloting.

Heart garnered 103 of the 265 total votes cast, while Lehi received 92 and Patapony Root, the third candidate, collected 70 for the only open seat on the seven-member council.

The victor, who previously served on the council for three years beginning in 1995, had stressed the need for further economic development during the campaign as well as the importance of improving education for the tribe’s children.

"Our kids are our future," he commented during an interview with the Cortez Journal. "They are our primary resource and will soon be running this tribal office, so we need to look out for them."

Heart also pledged to always keep the general welfare foremost among his priorities.