After months in limbo, the fate of Cherokee’s vacant vice chief seat has been decided — following a narrow vote from Tribal Council, a special election will be held to fill the office.

A census of people living on the Qualla Boundary will soon begin following a unanimous vote from Tribal Council to approve $273,000 for the project.

This month’s two full days of Tribal Council sessions included discussion on everything from research requests to drug policies to power bills, but one topic was noticeably absent from the agenda — the process for selecting a new vice chief.

Cherokee elders will no longer have power, water or sewer bills to worry about following a divided Tribal Council vote July 6 to pass legislation that former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert had put forward during his term.

A resolution that would have negated a 2007 vote to up Tribal Council’s pay by $10,000 was withdrawn last week following debate about what exactly the legislation’s impact would be.

The September ballot could include a special election for vice chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, pending a decision by the Cherokee Supreme Court. 

Principal Chief Richard Sneed laid out communication, collaboration and community as the guiding principles of his new administration in an address to tribal employees Tuesday, June 6. It had been one week since tribal offices reopened following Tribal Council’s decision to remove former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert from office, and four months since Council took its first impeachment-related action.

Following a 43 percent voter turnout during the June 1 Primary Election, the field of 45 Tribal Council candidates has been whittled down to 24 contenders for 12 seats. The top four vote-getters in each community will advance to the Sept. 7 General Election, when two representatives will be chosen from each to sit on Tribal Council.

Of the 12 current Tribal Council representatives, nine are running for re-election in this year’s race. The June 1 primary election saw one of the nine fail to advance to the general election, with several other incumbents finishing in weaker positions than they did in 2015. The election came just one week after the controversial impeachment and removal of former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert.

If the results of the June 1 primary elections are any indication, incumbent Tribal Council members could be in trouble come the General Election Sept. 7.