Muscogee voters will see a rematch of the 2021 election — plus one new face — in the McIntosh District “B” seat this year. Incumbent Muscogee National Council Rep. Galen Cloud, Jeff Francis Jr. and former Rep. Adam Jones III are all campaigning for the seat located in the southeast corner of the Muscogee Reservation.
The Muscogee Nation holds elections every two years for its National Council, which has eight districts, each with an “A” seat and a “B” seat. The McIntosh District includes Eufaula, Hanna, Stidham, Checotah, Rentiesville and Hitchita. While council candidates are required to live in their district, every Muscogee citizen may vote in every council election — for now. This year’s Sept. 20 ballot contains a question that would reinstitute district-based voting if passed.
While Muscogee citizens have been asking candidates for reactions to the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court’s decision that entitled the descendants of Muscogee Freedmen to tribal citizenship, candidates for the McIntosh district have largely avoided the subject. While Francis said he did not agree with the decision but would enforce it, both Cloud and Jones declined to provide details on how they would respond to the decision on the council.
Early voting will be held Sept. 17 and 18 throughout the reservation, and the election is set to be held Saturday, Sept. 20. The descendants of Muscogee Freedmen will not be enrolled prior to the election.
The following cheat sheet is based on official candidate biographies, campaign websites, social media pages, interviews by Mvskoke Media and other publicly available information. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
If no candidate in the McIntosh District “B” seat receives a majority of the vote Sept. 20, a runoff election would be held Nov. 8.
Galen Cloud (Incumbent)
Hometown: Henryetta
Profession/background: According to his interview with Mvskoke Media, Galen Cloud grew up in the Bristow area speaking the Muscogee language and is a member of the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, located in Okemah. Before his election, Cloud worked as a tribal historic preservation officer for the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town. He was first elected to the Muscogee National Council in 2021 after defeating incumbent Adam Jones III, who was seeking a fifth term in office.
Platform: Cloud told Mvskoke Media his focus in office has been on preserving Muscogee culture.
“I was very honored to sponsor the cultures and humanities legislation that came through, and that’s something that was very needed,” Cloud said. “Something that we’ve worked toward is getting our (language) immersion school, and that is something that has been on the table for a very long time, and I see that moving forward.”
Asked by Mvskoke Media to comment about the Freedmen decision on Aug. 13, Cloud declined.
“That’s still in litigation right now,” Cloud said. “I’ll have to pass on that right now.”
When Cloud was asked, a petition for rehearing on the case was still pending. It was denied on Aug. 20, an executive order was issued Aug. 28 about implementation.
In a Mvskoke Media interview in 2021, Cloud advocated for Freedmen citizenship being “up to the citizens,” a reference to calling for a vote on a constitutional amendment proposing Freedmen citizenship. Constitutional amendments require more than 60 percent of the vote to pass, and despite conversations that year about sending the issue to nationwide ballots, no action was taken.
Links: Facebook | Mvskoke Media
Jeff Francis Jr.
Hometown: Checotah
Profession/background: Jeff Francis Jr. grew up near Tiger Mountain and graduated from Checotah High School in 2001, according to an interview with Mvskoke Media. He has worked in construction for the past 13 years.
Platform: He told Mvskoke Media he is focused on improving mental health services within the nation.
“Mental health is a big deal. We have a lot of people who experience problems with it,” Francis said. “It leads to substance abuse, domestic violence, and it’s something we need to be very forward with and invest in the programs.”
Asked about Freedmen citizenship on Aug. 25, Francis said he would support doing whatever the Muscogee Constitution said.
“If the Muscogee Constitution says that the Freedmen are going to be entered in (the citizenship rolls), then that’s what I’m going to hold up,” Francis said. “If they decide the Freedmen are not going to be entered in through the constitution, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
Later in the interview he clarified he did not agree with the Muscogee Supreme Court’s Freedmen citizenship decision, but he said he would implement it.
Regarding another controversial topic within the tribe, Francis said he supports lowering the nation’s blood quantum requirement for holding office from one-quarter to at least one-eighth.
“I’d say right out the gate that we can drop it to an eighth and then run that for a couple of years and see what the rest of the citizens like,” Francis said. “If they like it, do they want to drop it to a sixteenth or remove it completely?”
He also supports increasing the school clothing donation allocation and doing feasibility studies on building data centers within the reservation, he told Mvskoke Media.
Links: Facebook | Mvskoke Media
Adam Jones III
Hometown: Stidham
Profession/background: Adam Jones III is the owner of Jones Construction, according to a now-defunct website from his previous campaign. He formerly represented the district from 2008 to 2021 before losing reelection to Cloud. as of the publication of this article, he has not scheduled an interview with Mvskoke Media before the general election.
Platform: Jones said at a Eufaula Indian Community candidate forum that he supports increasing services for elders, including payments to citizens over a certain age.
“If you put $500 to 500 citizens, that’s only $3 million, and if you put that program together, that would help our elders, and (we can) see if it’s maybe a 75-and-older (or) 80-and-older program,” Jones said. “It will help support our elders who have a rough time.”
Jones infamously opposed the Muscogee Nation’s independent press constitutional amendment in 2021, which voters approved with 76 percent support.
At the Muskogee Indian Community candidate forum, Jones said he supported returning to district voting, a proposal on the Sept. 20 ballot.
He told the Weleetka Indian Community “the Freedmen issue” was one of the top issues facing the nation, although he did not elaborate on his stance.
At the Okmulgee District forum, he advocated for increasing the funding allocated to Muscogee Indian communities.
“Today, I think our communities need even more money and some possibly even need help with economic development,” Jones said. “The new council, and (whoever) the new (members) may be, need to know what we’ve always supported as far as the community level.”
Jones also told the Koweta Indian Community he favored levying taxes throughout the reservation to fund expanded and improved tribal services.
“We have the McGirt case. We won that, and we haven’t even used that to the best of our ability. We need to pass laws where we’re able to use (it) for taxation,” Jones said. “Those taxation can create programs and monies for elders, for our youth, everything us councilors want to do for you.”
Links: Facebook
