KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – A recall effort against seven of eight Ketchikan Indian Council members has failed to gain enough signatures.

The number of collected signatures didn't meet several thresholds, according to council president Irene Dundas.

The Ketchikan Indian Community group, which spurred the recall effort, alleged the seven tribal members violated the tribe's constitution when they voted in late May to temporarily appoint Dundas to act as CEO, a position she held briefly.

But the council determined the petition effort didn't reach the 287 signatures needed to call a special meeting to remove members. That number would represents 5 percent of the council's 5,757-person membership, the Ketchikan Daily News reported.

It also didn't reach the 197 signatures needed to recall a Council member, a number which represents half of the members who voted in the most recent council election.

“Regularly scheduled elections are the place for tribal citizens to exercise their power to vote for the candidates of their choice,” Dundas said in a prepared statement. “While our tribe's governing laws allow for the recall of elected Council members, there was confusion about which law this recall was filed under.”

Another flaw in the process is that the petition pages did not contain the signatures and verification of those circulating the petition that he or she was a council member.

Tribal administrator Arlene Dilts Jackson consulted the solicitor's office of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in making its determination.

The co-chair of the recall committee, Martha Johnson, questioned the outcome.

“There's something wrong with this picture when the people being recalled can decide on the petition,” she said.

She said they collected 243 signatures, but the council ruled six invalid because they weren't council members. They didn't meet the 197 signature threshold because the council invalidated 50 percent of the signatures because they weren't registered to vote in KIC elections or weren't council members.

Johnson said this doesn't disprove the misconduct charges; it only means they didn't get the necessary number of signatures.

Dundas denied any wrongdoing on the part of the council or herself, and called the process good for KIC.

“The Ketchikan Indian Community has undergone significant change in office staff and among its Council leadership,” Dundas said. “We ask for patience and call upon our tribal members to understand that the transitions that our community is undergoing are intended to strengthen the Ketchikan Indian Community for the long run.”

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Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com