Shaquille Begay is a 31-year-old community member with a business degree, running in District 1 (Coppermine, LeChee, Kaibeto, Tonalea, and Red Lake) against incumbent Helena Nez-Begay. His interview with Cal Nez leaned heavily on long-term economic strategy and business fundamentals, and also covered health care and 638 oversight, the executive-legislative conflict, and the Navajo Business Opportunity Act. Below are the questions Cal asked, short summaries of Begay's answers in our own words, and follow-ups a voter might still want answered.
Watch or read the full interview, and see the scorecard, on Shaquille Begay’s profile. This page is a nonpartisan summary; the Diné Civic Center does not endorse any candidate.
Begay argued the Nation only addresses the next three to four years and must instead plan strategically for the next 10, 20, 30, even 50 years — running a profitability and return assessment on legislation and purchases (how much is spent, and how many years to earn it back).
Rather than free tuition, Begay favors service-commitment agreements — too many students earn degrees and don't return, so funding would be tied to a commitment to come back and serve; he would pursue it through legislation, partnerships, and updating ONSWA.
Begay explained that roughly 70–75% of facility revenue comes from patient access, with a smaller share from third-party billing; he's not opposed to a private practice in principle (638 itself is non-profit) but would judge it on market need. He called for stronger HEHSC oversight, citing the early-2000s Sage Memorial fund-mismanagement scandal.
As someone who isn't a Nation employee, Begay said he would approach it unbiased — meet with the President, get both viewpoints, and build the budget on long-term strategic planning rather than the four-year cycle.
Pointing to failures like Zinni Homes and the deteriorating Washington, D.C. building, Begay said he wouldn't vote quickly — he would assess each company's origin, expertise, portfolio, and completed jobs first.
Begay explained the NBOA gives Navajo-owned businesses first preference and walked through the ownership tiers; he would prioritize Navajo-owned firms and said he'd favor a corporation (with a board of directors for oversight) over an LLC — noting Zinni Home was an LLC.
Topics a voter in this district might still want to hear about:
Not a judgment of this candidate — just what a specific, substantive answer includes, so you can weigh any candidate’s response: