Thomas O'Rourke sworn in as Yurok tribe chair this afternoon

This follows James Dunlap resignation yesterday, after information about his crimal past surfaced.

He was the next candidate in the election with the most votes. you need at least 30 percent, he got 40.

Press Release:

This afternoon, Thomas P. O’Rourke Sr. was sworn in as Chairman of the Yurok Tribe.

“This is a sad day, but we are going to get through this and we are going to make sure that it never happens again,” Chairman O’Rourke said. “We are still a very young government and this is not something we will forget, but we are not going to dwell on it as we move forward.”

Chairman O’Rourke replaced James Dunlap, who tendered his resignation yesterday.

According to the Yurok Constitution, a vacancy that occurs during the first year of a Councilmember’s term is filled by the Tribal Council appointing the person who received the next highest number of votes in the last election if that person received at least thirty percent of the total votes. In the most recent election, Chairman O’Rourke earned greater than the required 30 percent of the total vote.

Yurok tribe Chair James Dunlap just resigned

This just in...

Hours after my post:

http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2016/03/yurok-tribe-chair-james-dunlaps-alleged.html

Mar 15, 2016

Yurok tribe Chair James Dunlap's alleged criminal past or mistaken identity?

The first screen shot is an article from San Jose Mercury News, said Ms. McCovey.

Listed below are the articles in the archive search from San Jose Mercury News.

Article 6 of 10, Article ID: 8805090706 Published on December 3, 1988, San Jose Mercury News (CA) NOT GUILTY PLEA: James Dunlap, 31, of Humboldt County, charged in San Mateo County with the "sacrifice murder" of his 3-month-old daughter pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the crime during a court appearance Friday. Dunlap is accused of fatally stabbing Brittany Dunlap at his half-brother's San Mateo home on Sept. 9. Kemp set a pretrial conference date of Dec. 6. for Dunlap. Bay Area in Complete Article, 66 words ( )

Article 7 of 10, Article ID: 8804160910 Published on September 14, 1988, San Jose Mercury News (CA) MURDER CHARGE James Dunlap, 30, was formally charged Tuesday in San Mateo County Municipal Court with murdering his 3-month-old daughter. Dunlap, a resident of Hoopa in Humboldt County, is charged with fatally stabbing his daughter, Brittaney, Friday afternoon while visiting his half-brother's San Mateo home. Bay Area in Complete Article, 48 words ( )

Article 8 of 10, Article ID: 8804160666 Published on September 13, 1988, San Jose Mercury News (CA) FATHER ARRESTED IN KILLING OF INFANT A Humboldt County man is in custody in San Mateo after allegedly killing his 3-month-old daughter "to set her free for God." San Mateo police said they arrived at a house where the family was staying Friday just as James Dunlap, 30, of Hoopa was lifting the girl over his head and yelling out that he had sacrificed her to God. The girl, Brittaney, had been stabbed with a buck knife in her crib, police said. Dunlap was taken to the psychiatric ward of Chope Community Hospital in Complete Article, 287 words ( )

Article 9 of 10, Article ID: 8804160752 Published on September 13, 1988, San Jose Mercury News (CA) FATHER ARRESTED IN SLAYING OF INFANT A Humboldt County man is in custody in San Mateo after allegedly killing his 3-month-old daughter "to set her free for God." San Mateo police said they arrived at a house where the family was staying Friday just as James Dunlap, 30, of Hoopa was lifting the girl over his head and yelling out that he had sacrificed her to God. The girl, Brittaney, had been stabbed with a buck knife in her crib, police said. Dunlap was taken to the psychiatric ward of Chope Community Hospital in Complete Article, 287 words ( )

Article 10 of 10, Article ID: 8804160291 Published on September 13, 1988, San Jose Mercury News (CA) INFANT KILLED A Humboldt County man is in custody in San Mateo after allegedly killing his 3-month-old daughter "to set her free for God." San Mateo police said they arrived at a house where the family was staying Friday just as James Dunlap, 30, of Hoopa was lifting the girl over his head and yelling out that he had sacrificed her to God. The girl, Brittaney, had been stabbed with a buck knife in her crib, police said. Dunlap was taken to the psychiatric ward of Chope Community Hospital in Complete Article, 287 words ( )

I will be checking the crime database for California later this morning. No record in Humboldt County Superior Court or the court crime database. This case goes back 10 or 11 years and there is no indication how far back the records go in this databse.

Here are some images of court documents:

I did contact both, Mr. James Dunlap and Ms. Patti McCovey, for comment.

Mr. Dunlap responded early this morning. He said he has meetings all day but will call this evening.

Ms. MCovey responded promptly, "That's what I posted. James Dunlap was recently elected to Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. At no point during his candidacy did he reveal these charges. To not reveal them is deceitful. Furthermore, the Yurok Tribe was supposed to run a Federal background check on Mr. Dunlap before allowing him to run for Chairman. It appears that it wasn't done. This information should have been given to the tribal membership before, or during, the election for Chairperson. We have the right to know exactly who we are electing to be our Chairperson. Had we known this information, the elections would have turned out differently. Our tribal leaders are supposed to be upstanding citizens who can represent our tribe with the highest morals possible. Giving the severity of these charges, and others, Mr. Dunlap has no place to serve as our tribal leader. This is an embarrassment and a failure to our membership."