A plain-language guide to how the Diné Civic Center gathers information, produces candidate content, and scores candidates — and, just as importantly, what these scores do not mean.
Candidate interviews are conducted by Cal Nez through live broadcasts on Politics on the Navajo Nation (Facebook Live). These public interviews give candidates the opportunity to discuss their background, priorities, and views in their own words. Cal Nez is the interviewer and source of these conversations; he is not an employee or representative of the Diné Civic Center, and interview participation does not constitute an endorsement.
To turn those interviews into the profiles and summaries on this site, we follow a consistent process:
We want to be transparent about the limits of this process: automated transcripts can be inconsistent — they may miss names, mishear words, or omit timestamps — and AI-assisted summaries reflect interpretation, not perfect transcription. For that reason, every candidate page links to the original interview, and readers are encouraged to watch it and reach their own conclusions. All content is based on the candidates' own public statements and publicly available information.
Each score reflects only what a candidate showed during their public interview with Cal Nez on Politics on the Navajo Nation (2026). They are a snapshot of one conversation — not a complete measure of a person, their record, or their character.
Interview conditions varied. Some were affected by poor phone or internet connections, and some candidates were not interviewed at all. Because of that, the scores are best understood as "what this interview was able to show," not a final judgment.
Each category is rated from 0 to 10 based on the evidence in the interview. Colors group those numbers into easy-to-read levels:
The total at the top of each scorecard is the average of only the categories that were assessed. Categories marked "Not assessed" are left out entirely, so no candidate is scored down for a topic the interview never reached. We also show how many categories the total is based on — for example, "based on 10 of 12 categories" — so you can see how complete each interview was.
A Navajo Nation President and a Council Delegate are running for different jobs, so we measure them against different things. Both share a common core of leadership qualities, then each is scored on the areas that matter for that specific office.
Categories shown in green are the shared core, scored for every candidate regardless of office. Because the two offices are measured differently, totals should be compared president-to-president and delegate-to-delegate — not across offices.
Each delegate category measures one distinct area, so a score always means one clear thing:
This category looks at observable behavior in the interview — how a candidate handled tough or unexpected questions, whether they were candid about what they did and did not know, and how they carried themselves under pressure. It is based on what was shown in the conversation, not a judgment of who someone is as a person.
Candidates and campaign representatives may submit corrections, biographical information, campaign website and contact details, and photographs they authorize the Diné Civic Center to publish. By submitting materials, you confirm you have the right to share them and grant permission for their use on this site.
To submit information or request a correction, contact the Diné Civic Center.