The tribal council of the United Auburn Indian Community is being targeted for recall by members angry over internal tribal issues, including the wealthy casino tribe's $1 million sponsorship pledge to help keep the Sacramento Kings in town.

A tribal faction, including a former council chairwoman Jessica Tavares, announced today that it has submitted petitions to recall all five current tribal council members in protest over the financial pledge to the Kings without consent of tribal members.

In a letter to current tribal chairman David Keyser and elections committee chairwoman Julie Huff, Tavares said 75 of the tribe's 186 voting members signed the petitions, meeting a threshold of 40 percent of voting members to schedule a recall vote.

The turmoil in the United Auburn tribe, operators of the lucrative Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, involves numerous tribal matters but appears to extend to the specifics of the Kings deal.

The protesting faction claims that United Auburn's pledge to the NBA team came as the tribal council denied financial support to a tribal school for grades 7-12 and for drug and rehabilitation services. Other disputes apparently center over distribution of casino income in the tribe and disagreements over a tribal financial audit and payments to a tribal attorney.

In a press release circulated by Steve Maviglio, a Sacramento political consultant, tribal elder and former council member Dolly Suehead charged that the tribal council is ignoring concerns of members. "It's time for this outrageous rip-off of our tribe to end, and those who committed it to be removed from the council," Suehead said in a statement.

Maviglio said bad feelings over the money pledged to the Kings represent "a tiny slice" of disputes over "substantial" issues dividing the tribe.

The sponsorship pledge from United Auburn came at a critical time as the Maloof family, owners of the Sacramento Kings, was considering moving the franchise to Anaheim.

In April, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced he had helped secure $10 million in corporate sponsorships and ticket sales - with United Auburn's contribution among the largest - to keep the team in town.

Numerous Kings' games are now canceled and the NBA season is in doubt due to a bitter labor fight, in which the owners have locked out the players.

Recently, Doug Elmets, spokesman for the Thunder Valley casino, said the tribe was concerned about its sponsorship pledge - in which no money has been handed over so far - and was reassessing its options.

Elmets said today the tribal council pledged to help the Kings by joining in "the community's support to keep the Kings in Sacramento" and pursuing "an outstanding advertising opportunity for the Thunder Valley casino" through sponsorships with the NBA team.

But with the NBA work stoppage, Elmets said, "the reality is this may be all moot" because "the NBA and the players have not been able to come to an agreement and the season appears to be whittling away."

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