Full Profile · From the Interview Record
Diné Bizaad note
Portions of this interview were spoken in Diné Bizaad, which automated transcription cannot capture. The summaries on this site underrepresent those answers through no fault of the candidate — the interview video is the only faithful record of them. Watch the source.
Germaine Simonson
≈ 4 min read · or listen, or skim the bold lines
B · From the record Summaries are drawn from Cal Nez’s interview. Quotations are not published until checked against the recording. How we verify →
Candidate Snapshot
Background & Why They’re Running
Simonson pointed to concrete, funded wins — new senior centers for Pinon and Whippoorwill plus three renovations, approved in 2024 — and described pressing the engineering and community-development offices in committee to move projects that, on the Nation, often take eight or more years.
Where Germaine Simonson Stands
Each topic below is drawn from the interview — the question Cal asked, and a short summary of the answer, generated by AI from the interview recording.
Self-Assessment & Committee Work
Cal asked: How would you grade yourself, A through F?
Simonson gave herself an A, citing a 95%-plus HEHSC attendance rate and a sponsorship record that includes routine ARPA and CAP project legislation and the 477 plan for the Department of Children and Family Services.
The Contested Budget Legislation
Cal asked: Explain the legislation that gave extra budget to the legislative branch and the President — what was your logic?
Simonson defended introducing the President's emergency budget legislation, explaining the budget standoff between the executive and legislative branches and the vetoed amounts. She said the legislative branch's companion piece simply wasn't ready when she introduced the President's, and that following the activity online doesn't capture what actually happened.
The Missing $24 Million
Cal asked: What happened with the $24 million, and what gauge did you use to approve the package?
Simonson tied it to weak contractor-selection systems and due diligence in Window Rock, noting council approved a broad, vague ARPA appropriation rather than IDSA specifically, and that delegates had raised concerns because IDSA was not a general contractor.
638 Oversight
Cal asked: Do you think HEHSC is the real oversight committee for IHS and the 638s?
Simonson was candid that, three and a half years in, she has realized HEHSC doesn't have real direct say over 638 or IHS operations — they report to the committee, but IHS positions itself as federal and the relationship is government-to-government, so communities, not delegates, decide on 638 contracts.
The Navajo Business Opportunity Act
Cal asked: Are you familiar with the NBOA?
Simonson said she is familiar with the Act but did not detail specific changes. She closed by urging voters to notice how often candidates promise to “work together,” and to weigh whether they will actually deliver it.
In Their Own Words
Verbatim from the interview (auto-transcribed; lightly trimmed for length):
“The department of the interior expressed in their contract that they would return the land in as good as received.”
“Certainly, I've heard one or two delegates that said, just we need 110 delegates, which is above and beyond the 88 that once was.”
Topics in the Interview
- Record & Senior Centers
- Self-Assessment & Committee Work
- The Contested Budget Legislation
- The Missing $24 Million
- 638 Oversight
- The Navajo Business Opportunity Act