O’Rourke wins Yurok tribal chairmanship

Unofficial results from the Yurok Tribe’s runoff election Thursday show that Thomas P. O’Rourke, Sr., will be the new chair of the Tribal Council.

O’Rourke beat out Dr. Michael Ward by receiving 55 percent of the 1,101 votes cast, but he won’t officially be announced the winner until the tribe certifies the results Tuesday.

Current North District council member Marjorie Donahue Buckskin was also a winner in the race for vice-chair. She beat out incumbent Bonnie Bacon Green with nearly 70 percent of the 1,086 votes tallied.

With O’Rourke and Buckskin presumably winning, the Tribal Council will have brand new leadership.

O’Rourke is a 49-year-old cancer survivor who lives in Tulley Creek, and was the council’s vice-chair from 2003 to 2006. He beat out current chairperson Maria Tripp in the primary elections, which took place in October.

Buckskin is a court-appointed special advocate for the Yurok Tribe, and has served on the United Indian Health Board for 14 years.

According to an official from the Yurok Tribe Election Office, O’Rourke and Buckskin are scheduled to be installed in their new positions Dec. 9, though he said that date is subject to change.