In this Feb. 8, 2013 file photo, David Burnett, the chair of the Chehalis tribe and a member of the Chehalis Work Group, speaks at a lunchtime presentation of their proposed flood mitigation plan at the Cherburg Building on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.
Looking back on his 12-year tenure as the Chehalis Tribal Chairman, David Burnett said the tribe pursued what he used to call “a good neighbor policy,” but that didn’t mean his tenure was without conflict.
Attorney, member of the Governor’s Chehalis Basin Work Group and self-described conservative Republican J. Vander Stoep doesn’t mince words when asked working with Burnett to address flooding in the Chehalis River Basin.
“I’m a Republican. Tribes and Republicans don’t always get along, let’s just start there,” he said.
Then go to the fact that the Chehalis, as with tribes throughout the Northwest, want to see salmon runs preserved and restored as much as possible. Now weigh that against people like Vander Stoep and the generations of frustrated Southwest Washington residents who have dealt with catastrophic floods.
“Obviously a lot of American politics is broken down like armies in their World War I trenches shooting at each other. We could have been just another example of that,” Vander Stoep said. “We — in a large part because of the vision and leadership of David Burnett —changed it into an opportunity to reduce flood damage in the Chehalis Basin … and also to restore a fishery that has been in decline … and now there’s an opportunity to enhance it.”
In November, Gov. Jay Inslee endorsed a recommendation submitted to him by the six-member group to take specific courses of action in an integrated project they say will save more than $650 million in flood damage costs and $70 million in fish habitat restoration.
Although they didn’t know each other when the work group was formed in 2012 by then-Gov. Chris Gregoire, Vander Stoep said he “developed a high degree of trust in (Burnett’s) integrity in his intelligence, and in his problem solving abilities.”
Burnett never intended to become the Chehalis Tribal Chairman. Trained as a certified public accountant, he worked for the Squaxin Island Tribe and then a private accounting firm before coming to Chehalis in 2000. He was hired as chief financial officer, a position he expected to hold until retirement, but was later elected treasurer.
In early 2002, then-chairman David Youckton announced he would be stepping down before the November election. Burnett found himself in Youckton’s office asking him to stay, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
“I said, ‘Well, who’s going to do this job then?’” Burnett said. “His response was, ‘How about you?’”
Burnett said he was shocked and dismissive of the suggestion, thinking his election would be a longshot. Yet that November, he found himself serving the first of his six two-year terms in tribe’s highest elected office.
At that point the Chehalis Tribe was still limping away from 1998, a year “the tribe met all the definitions of being bankrupt,” Burnett said.
But the tribe’s fortunes also dramatically improved that year. The state of Washington and tribes came to an agreement about gaming machines, making the fledgling, 3-year-old Lucky Eagle Casino a catalyst for tribal growth.
“The tribe was able to take the proceeds from that and act in a pretty wise way to reinvest,” Burnett said. “We chose ‘let’s not to put all eggs in one basket but develop other businesses.’”
Since the casino, the tribe has built a hotel, an RV park, gas stations, a construction company, a medical facility, a police station and the Great Wolf Lodge, which the tribe jointly operates with Great Wolf Resorts of Madison, Wisconsin. Burnett said there are also other developments in the works.
“Look at the businesses that I believe he has been in the lead in developing. That didn’t come by accident. It came because he’s a talented problem solver,” Vander Stoep said.
But Burnett is modest and unspecific when asked about his influence in the Chehalis’ improved fortunes.
“I guess I don’t like beating my own chest,” he said. “I can say I worked my hardest and put my best effort into that. I’m fortunate to be in the position I was in our history.”
The tribe just saw another major milestone when Thurston County Assessor Steven Drew ended a seven-year battle by deciding not to appeal the 2013 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that prevented the county from collecting property taxes from the Great Wolf Lodge.
“The judge essentially said however tribe chooses to conduct business it’s tribe business. The county can’t assess taxes,” Burnett said. “That was a big win for all of Indian country.”
As of the Nov. 8 tribal election, Burnett is no longer in office. But he has been assisting with new Tribal Chairman Don Secena’s transition.
“I think bittersweet is the right word,” Burnett said. “It’s been not even a month yet. I’m mentally having a difficult time, saying I’m letting go.”
Secena grew up in Oakville, was the vice chairman for seven years, served on the Chehalis Tribal council for more than a decade, and the Oakville School Board for more than six.
Burnett said there may be some changes to the Chehalis Tribe’s internal focus, but he believes Secena will continue the good neighbor policy when working with other governments because of the value in establishing relationships.
Secena could not be reached for comment as he was in Washington, D.C., for the White House Tribal Nations Conference.
“He and I are certainly different people, but he’s a guy with a whole lot of integrity,” Burnett said. “I have a lot of hope for him.”
