The 470-member Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians took to the polls for the second time in a year and removed two tribal council members who had been chosen during a previous election.

Rosemary Morillo and Scott Cozart were elected Saturday to the tribal council, replacing Becky Salgado Flores and Maurice Mojado.

Robert Salgado was once again elected tribal chairman.
Morillo and Cozart will take office immediately and will serve out current two-year terms that expire in April 2006.

"It's not a recall, it's just a re-election," said Marian Chacon, a tribal member serving as an appointed judge over the Soboba election committee.
Flores and Mojado were not targeted for a recall, Chacon said, adding that no petition for a recall was ever submitted.

Salgado and Morillo referred all questions to Chacon. Flores and Cozart could not be reached for comment.

Jim Fletcher, superintendent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said the agency has yet to receive the results of the Saturday election. The bureau recognized Flores and Mojado as council members after an election in March, but will support the results of the most recent ballots, Fletcher said.

A faction of the tribe wanted a second election because some questioned whether the March election was properly conducted. At a July meeting, 57 of 80 members voted to hold a new election.

There also was criticism of the tribal leaders after the resignations and firings of several tribal and casino employees. Most signed a confidentiality agreement that prohibits them from speaking publicly.

Chacon said the recent election was conducted in the same manner as the earlier March race.

"We didn't find anything wrong with the first one," Chacon said.
There were 146 votes cast Saturday and 79 additional absentee ballots were counted, Chacon said.

If there is opposition to the results of the second election, critics will have to undergo the same procedure as before, Chacon said. "If they don't like it, they can bring it before the tribe."

Fletcher said the bureau would only get involved with the election if the tribes request it. Usually, the election committee brings any problems to the bureau's attention.

"In Soboba's case there wasn't anything critical at that point," Fletcher said of the earlier election, adding it is rare for tribes to re-do an election.
The decisions made by the tribal council during the six-month tenure of Flores and Mojado would stand, Chacon said.

Reach Han Kwak at (951) 763-3456 or hkwak@pe.com.