2026 Candidate — Council Delegate
Shaquille Begay Interviewed
B · From the record Summaries are drawn from Cal Nez’s interview. Quotations are not published until checked against the recording. How we verify →
Updated
Round 2 interview added — Shaquille Begay returned for a follow-up interview with Cal Nez before the primary. Read the round 2 answers · watch the video.
- Office sought
- Council Delegate
- Chapters (this seat)
- Coppermine, Kaibeto (K’ai’bii’tó), LeChee, Tonalea
- Incumbent
- No
- Education
- Attended Diné College; currently in a Master of Business Administration program
- Interview date
- Interview — May 26, 2026
- Interview status
- Interviewed by Cal Nez — Politics on the Navajo Nation (2026)
Their overall approach
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 From their answers →
Summary
A summary in the site’s words, drawn from the candidate’s recorded interview — not a quotation and not the candidate’s own wording. Their exact words are in the interview video.
Shaquille Begay is a 31-year-old community member with a business degree, running in the precinct (Coppermine, LeChee, Kaibeto, and Tonalea (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.
Interview Q&A
In the interview, this candidate addressed:
Long-Term Economic Strategy · Higher Education Funding · Health Care & 638 Oversight · Executive-Legislative Conflict · Vetting Contracts & Failed Purchases · The Navajo Business Opportunity Act (NBOA) & Business Structure
In their own words: “The way I see the Navajo Nation is that we're just only addressing issues short term, like what's in front of us for the next three years.”
Related issues
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Others running for this seat
- Christopher Curley Interviewed
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