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TAHLEQUAH - Meredeth Frailey, 58, and Virginia Stroud, 47, both filed on Friday to run for Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (CNO).

Meredeth Frailey, an attorney and businessperson, is on leave from a Tulsa company were she holds the position of Marketing Director. She held the same position from 1992 until 1998 at the Cherokee Nation Industries. Frailey is the cousin of former Chief Ross Swimmer.

"I am trying to run a clean race on what I can offer the Cherokee Nation", Frailey said, and added that she does not want to get involved in the political turmoil that has pleged the tribe for the last two years. Fraily stated, "I'm running on my background in business finance, law and government."

The tribe should tap into tourism within its 14 counties in Northeastern Oklahoma, and help in the development of tribal business ventures by using the services and purchasing goods from the businesses when the prices are competitive, Frailey stated.

Virginia Stroud, an artist, stated that her goals are to improve the Sequoyah High School and improve health care coverage.

In an interview last month Stroud stated, "I stand with open eyes that see, ears that listen to desires and needs." She said "I sense the heaviness upon the Cherokee Nation and recognize the void. I stand up for the people."