FBICC GENERAL ELECTIONS  
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2025 AT 10:00 A.M. PST 
 
 
November 3, 2025 
 
Hello FBIC Membership,  
This letter is intended to notify you that the Fort Bidwell Indian Community Council will be holding our General Membership Elections on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. PST. This will be a hybrid meeting with virtual and in-person access.  
In order to hold our Tribal Elections, our membership will need to meet the quorum requirement of at least thirty (30%) percent of the 254 eligible voting tribal members attending the meeting, for a total of 76 tribal members. In order to participate, each eligible voting member of the Tribe (21 years and older) will be required to register to attend the scheduled Zoom meeting or sign in at the FBICC Tribal Office.   
The Fort Bidwell Indian Community Council has elected to hold our annual Tribal Elections for all nine (9) Tribal Council positions utilizing Simply Voting (www.simplyvoting.com) and in-person voting.  
Nominations for Tribal Council, Enrollment, Health, and Housing positions will be accepted by email to the Tribal Council at [email protected] until Saturday, November 1, 2025. Nominations will also be accepted during the Elections meeting, as detailed below in the “Nominations Process” section.  
 
Respectfully, 
 
Tribal Council 
Fort Bidwell Indian Community Council  
 
 
 
Please see the Elections Process and Instructions in Attachment A and Vacant Council, Board and Committee Positions in Attachment B. 
Attachment A:  Elections Process and Instructions 
 
Below are the instructions to prepare for and participate in the virtual and in-person election process. 
 
Preparing for the Election 
In order to attend the meeting in-person, each member will need to meet at the FBICC Tribal Office and sign in on the attendance list.  
In order to attend the meeting virtually, each member will need to be able to connect to the internet and download the Zoom app to the device they plan on utilizing to attend the meeting.  
To register to Zoom in advance of the meeting, please use this link: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RPZP_OcaTMikQNwPYmnCcQ 
 
Registering before the meeting will help to alleviate the time and effort it takes to login, ensuring a smoother process.  
You will need to know your Tribal Identification Number (Enrollment Number) and the last four digits of your Social Security Number in order to cast a ballot utilizing the Simply Voting election software. If you do not know your Tribal Identification Number please contact Kathi Mathys, Enrollment Clerk, at [email protected], no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 7, 2024. 
Meeting Process 
You will be required to join the zoom meeting or in-person meeting no later than 9:59 am pacific standard time  
For virtual attendees, please enter the following Meeting ID in the zoom app:  
875 0778 9545 and register with your full legal name that is on file with the Enrollment Department.  
You may have more than one Tribal member per device, but please note that each member will be required to show themselves on video to prove that are actually present. 
Please be advised that once you are admitted to the meeting you will not be able to speak and no one will be able to hear you unless the Tribal Council calls on you during the meeting.  
At exactly 10:00 a.m. pacific standard time, the Tribal Council will start the zoom meeting and in-person meeting at which time they will confirm whether or not a quorum has been established in order to continue on with the nomination process.  
If quorum is not met, Tribal Council will give the membership a thirty (30) minute grace period in case of any connectivity or access issues. If quorum has not been met after the grace period, Tribal Council may decide to do any of the following: 
Extend the waiting period 
Reschedule the meeting in an effort to meet quorum 
End the meeting and enter into a discussion session 
 
 
Nomination Process 
If quorum has been met, the Tribal Council will begin take nominations for Tribal Council followed by Enrollment Committee, Health Board, and Housing Board. 
In order to nominate an eligible candidate you will need to raise your hand utilizing the zoom menu or enter your nomination in the chat box. In-person nominations will be taken by the Council member supervising the meeting.  
Once all nominations have been received, the Chairman will then ask the nominee whether or not they accept or decline the nomination and will allow the nominee to speak.  
Once nominations for Tribal Council have been closed, the Elections process will begin (detailed below). 
  
Election Process  
Upon completion of the nominations the Enrollment Officer will finalize the electronic and in-person ballots and announce the start of the voting process  
Virtual attendees will be given a link to the ballot in the chat section of the zoom meeting. Each eligible voting member will need to click on the ballot link in the chat to access the voting site. Once at the voting site you will need to submit your Elector ID and password. Your Elector ID will be your Tribal Identification Number (Enrollment Number) and your password is the last four digits of your Social Security Number (example: Elector ID 518-000  Password 1234). This process will need to be repeated for each tribal member who may be attending in a group on Zoom.  
In-person attendees will also submit their ballots using the SimplyVoting link. Laptop/computers will be available, but personal devices may also be used. The Council member supervising the meeting will assist members, if needed. 
Once the voting process has been started you will have thirty (30) minutes to complete and submit your ballot.  
At the conclusion of the thirty (30) minutes the Enrollment Officer will initiate the election results and the results will be shared immediately.  
 
Newly Elected Council, Board, and Committee Members 
Newly Elected officials will be announced and given time to coordinate contact information to set a meeting time for their first official meeting.  
The newly elected Tribal Council Members will be made panelists and will elect officers in executive session. Once officers have been elected the newly elected Tribal Council Members will be sworn into office. At the conclusion of the oath the meeting will end. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Attachment B: Vacant Council, Board, and Committee Positions 
 
Tribal Council  
According to Article VIII: Nominations and Elections of our constitution, there are five (5) council members with the highest vote that may serve for two (2) years, and the remaining council will serve for one (1) year. Listed below are the active Tribal Council members. 
 
Votes Received 
Tribal Member Name 
Term Limit 
57 
Megan Gourd 
November 2024 
54 
Madeline Arredondo 
November 2024 
45 
Lawrence Harlan 
November 2024 
44 
Germain Ruvalcaba 
November 2024 
42 
Cecilia Phoenix 
November 2024 
39 
Cora Phoenix-Price 
November 2023 
39 
Liz Zendejas 
November 2023 
38 
Meldrick Meza 
November 2023 
36 
JoAnn Arnold 
November 2023 
 
Enrollment Committee 
According to Section 2: Enrollment Committee of the Enrollment Committee By laws, the committee may serve a term of two (2) years but may be reappointed upon expiration of the two-year term.  
 
Votes Received 
Tribal Member Name 
Term Limit 
46 
Loretta Degarmo 
November 2024 
37 
Carla Wilson 
November 2024 
32 
Donna Ruvalcaba 
November 2024 
28 
Jana Townsend  
November 2024 
26  
Vivian Arnett 
November 2024 
 
 
Warner Mountain Indian Health Board 
According to Section IV: Governing Body of the Health Board By laws,  
the WMIHB members shall hold office for a term of two (2) years or until their successors are elected.  
Votes Received 
Tribal Member Name 
Term Limit 
40 
Chanel Jimenez 
November 2024 
33 
Ashlee Witcraft 
November 2024 
33 
LeeAndria Witcraft 
November 2024 
33 
Tori Townsend 
November 2024 
Health Board Selected 
Matthew Octuck 
November 2024 
 
Housing Board 
According to Section IV: Governing Body of the Housing Committee By Laws, the three committee members with the highest votes will serve a term of four (4) years, and the two members with the lowest votes will serve two years. 
In the 2022 elections, a vote passed to do a full election with 4 new board members and keep one member on to finish out their original term, which ended in 2024. Only two current members remain until 2026. 
Votes received 
Tribal Member Name 
Term limit 
Next highest vote 
Audra Sam 
November 2024 
Next highest vote 
Kevin L Townsend 
November 2024 
29 
Louis Townsend 
November 2026 
26 
Roberta Phoenix 
November 2026 
22 
Joni Townsend 
November 2024 
 
 Election Notice will be mailed out as well



Tribal Council
Gidutikad Band of Northern Paiutes
F.B.I.C.C.