Candidate Letter: Senate Seat 6 - Steve Edwards

To the members of the Swinomish Tribe, my name is Steve Edwards. I am running for Senate Seat 6 in 2022. I have had the opportunity to serve my community for 18 years on the Senate, two of those years as a Chairman. It has been an honor to serve my people in this leadership role because what we do for our people and future generations is important to our community. Over the years, I have learned a lot from the past leadership and staff who I enjoyed working with. We have gone through some tough times and good times, but I feel we have made great accomplishments during those 18 years of service.

I would like to say the two years as Chairman has had many challenges during this pandemic because it has changed our lives forever. As we continue to face the unknowns of our future, we will continue to work with health officials as well leadership to make sure there will be plans in place as we cannot afford to get lost in the mix. It has been sad to see the sacrifices we have had to make as Native people, not being able to gather as a community during such things as cultural events, especially funerals. I don’t like the fact that our elders have been isolated during these times and our kids have had to go through remote learning.

We must work on realistic goals for our community regardless if it’s housing, education, or services. It is all important and we all must work as one unit as Senators to accomplish our needs as a community, and that means more meetings as leadership and as well as with the community for guidance as needed. Together we can make a difference in our way of life as the Swinomish Tribal Community. We must continue with our dreams as past leaders have passed on to us and maintain a safe and healthy community.