Comanche Nation committee suspends tribe administrator

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) – The Comanche Nation Business Committee has suspended the tribe’s administrator over accusations of negligence in his duties.

The committee voted 3-2 with one abstention Saturday to suspend Will Owens without pay. Vice Chair Susan Cothren says Owens signed illegal contracts and mismanaged tribal funds, and that the vote wasn’t a "personal vendetta."

Tribe chairman Wallace Coffey says the committee’s vote is illegal under the tribe’s constitution and superseded the council’s will. Coffey says the reasons for Owens’ suspension are unfounded, and he has called for a special council meeting later this month.

Cothren says the tribal council elects the tribal administrator, but that Business Committee members are Owens’ "bosses."

Owens was rehired to serve as the tribe’s administrator during the April meeting of the Comanche Nation’s general council.