Marsha Greyeyes — Interview Q&A
≈ 7 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 →
Answer summaries in the site’s words, drawn from the recorded Cal Nez interview (Politics on the Navajo Nation, 2026) — not quotations and not the candidate’s own wording. Their exact words are in the video, linked from their profile.
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Platform: Four Pillars
Cal asked: What's your platform — what are you running on?
Greyeyes runs on four pillars — accountability, infrastructure, opportunity, and sustainability — which she says she landed on through deliberate brainstorming before committing to the race, and which appear on her campaign signs. She framed her motivation as wanting to be the “firefighter” rather than watch a sinking ship.
Not sure how to weigh this answer? The five lenses, in brief ▾
- Transparency & accountability: who is responsible, and how would progress be measured and verified?
- Root cause: does this address the underlying problem, or only the symptom?
- Culture — K’é / Hózhǫ: does it strengthen kinship, restore balance, honor future generations?
- Collaboration: who would need to work together — and does the answer name them?
- Prevention vs. damage control: does it prevent harm, or only respond after it?
Leadership & the Shonto Model
Cal asked: How would you grade yourself as Shonto chapter president, A through F?
Greyeyes leads Shonto under an Alternative Form of Governance — a nine-member council (three officials plus four directional representatives) rather than the standard chapter structure — in her first term as president after serving as vice president. She also sits on the Black Mesa Review Board and directs finance at Change Labs.
Not sure how to weigh this answer? The five lenses, in brief ▾
- Transparency & accountability: who is responsible, and how would progress be measured and verified?
- Root cause: does this address the underlying problem, or only the symptom?
- Culture — K’é / Hózhǫ: does it strengthen kinship, restore balance, honor future generations?
- Collaboration: who would need to work together — and does the answer name them?
- Prevention vs. damage control: does it prevent harm, or only respond after it?
The Line-Item Veto & Budget Gridlock
Cal asked: The president and council fight every year — what's causing it, and how would you fix it?
Greyeyes named ego on both sides, weak accountability, and the policies themselves. She zeroed in on the line-item veto: outside the budget, council can override it, but in budget situations a president whose budget doesn't pass can leverage the Council's, producing the horse-trading Cal summed up as “I’ll scratch your back as long as you scratch mine” — which she agreed “we need to do away with”. She would remove the line-item veto or add an override with clear, stated metrics.
Not sure how to weigh this answer? The five lenses, in brief ▾
- Transparency & accountability: who is responsible, and how would progress be measured and verified?
- Root cause: does this address the underlying problem, or only the symptom?
- Culture — K’é / Hózhǫ: does it strengthen kinship, restore balance, honor future generations?
- Collaboration: who would need to work together — and does the answer name them?
- Prevention vs. damage control: does it prevent harm, or only respond after it?
Government Reform & Title 26
Cal asked: Are you for government reform — and familiar with 1989 and Title 26?
Greyeyes knows the 1989 chairmanship-to-presidency transition and is open to reform but cautious — she views the single-format referendum approach (she cited a colleague's proposal) as “a one-man solution,” and wants the people to decide. She argued the Council holds any power not delegated, and that a portion of that (she pointed to Title 26) should return to communities; Shonto was the first LGA-certified chapter 27 years ago and still fights for its authority. She leans toward Home Rule as the strongest local-governance form.
Not sure how to weigh this answer? The five lenses, in brief ▾
- Transparency & accountability: who is responsible, and how would progress be measured and verified?
- Root cause: does this address the underlying problem, or only the symptom?
- Culture — K’é / Hózhǫ: does it strengthen kinship, restore balance, honor future generations?
- Collaboration: who would need to work together — and does the answer name them?
- Prevention vs. damage control: does it prevent harm, or only respond after it?
The Missing $24M & Contract Disclosure
Cal asked: What metric would you use to avoid another disputed $24 million?
Greyeyes called the $24M a systems failure — no due diligence, with financial controls and procurement safeguards not followed — and noted only chapters, never central government, are made to answer. She would require major tribal contracts to disclose beneficial owners, associated elected officials, campaign donors, consultants, lobbyists, and family or business ties, and wants a return-on-investment accounting for the millions spent through the Division of Economic Development and the RBDOs.
Not sure how to weigh this answer? The five lenses, in brief ▾
- Transparency & accountability: who is responsible, and how would progress be measured and verified?
- Root cause: does this address the underlying problem, or only the symptom?
- Culture — K’é / Hózhǫ: does it strengthen kinship, restore balance, honor future generations?
- Collaboration: who would need to work together — and does the answer name them?
- Prevention vs. damage control: does it prevent harm, or only respond after it?
Local Economy & Business-Site-Leasing Authority
Cal asked: How do you spur economic development, and what about the RBDOs?
From her Change Labs work, Greyeyes said the core gap is that tribal businesses aren't supported to become financially literate, and that communities should draw revenue from their own assets — trust land included, which she insists is still an asset. She argued that if all 110 chapters held Business Site Leasing Authority they could function as their own RBDOs, making the regional offices redundant; she pointed to Kayenta Township and Shonto registering businesses locally, and disclosed that Shonto's own BSL authority was temporarily revoked by the Resource Development Committee.
Not sure how to weigh this answer? The five lenses, in brief ▾
- Transparency & accountability: who is responsible, and how would progress be measured and verified?
- Root cause: does this address the underlying problem, or only the symptom?
- Culture — K’é / Hózhǫ: does it strengthen kinship, restore balance, honor future generations?
- Collaboration: who would need to work together — and does the answer name them?
- Prevention vs. damage control: does it prevent harm, or only respond after it?
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