Christopher L. Clark Deschene is an American politician, attorney, and energy development expert. A member of the Navajo Nation, Deschene was the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

's candidate for Secretary of State in Arizona in 2010, and served as a Department of Energy official in the Barack Obama Administration.

Biography

Deschene was born in California, but moved with his parents, a homemaker from

Dennehotso, Arizona Dennehotso ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 746 at the 2010 census. Geography Dennehotso is located at (36.837286, -109.860884). According to the United States Census Bur ...

and a welder from Tuba City, Arizona. Deschene spent his youth in LeChee, Arizona and attended high school in

Page, Arizona Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247. History Unlike other cities in the area, Page was founded in 1957 as a housing com ...

. After graduating from high school in 1989, Deschene attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He was deployed on several missions overseas, including the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia. After completing two tours of active duty, Deschene continued on as a reservist for a total of 10 years of military service. After leaving the Marines, Deschene earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, and a Master's of Science degree in Engineering from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. His grandfather was a Navajo code talker during World War II.

Career

He subsequently co-founded Law Office of Schaff & Clark Deschene, specializing in questions of energy infrastructure. Deschene worked at this firm for a decade before joining the Obama Administration in 2015. Deschene served as a member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

from 2009 to 2011, representing District 2. He was member of both the Committee for Natural Resources and Rural Affairs and the Committee for Water and Energy. Prior to his election to the legislature, he was the chair of the

Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by part ...

Democratic Party from 2007 to 2008 and the chair of the Native American Democratic Caucus. In 2010, he won the Democratic Party's nomination for Secretary of State, beating Sam Wercinski with 62.7% vs. 37.3% of the votes. He lost the general election to

Ken Bennett Kenneth Roy Bennett (born August 1, 1959) is an American businessman and politician who served as president of the Arizona Senate and served as the 19th Secretary of State of Arizona, from 2009 to 2015. He was a candidate for Governor of Arizona ...

. In the

Navajo Nation presidential election, 2015 The 2015 Navajo Nation Presidential Election was held on April 21, 2015, with the primary on August 26, 2014. Joe Shirley Jr. and Chris Deschene advanced to the general. Originally the general election between Shirley and Deschene was to be held ...

he ran for president of the Navajo Nation, though he was later disqualified by the Navajo Nation Office of Hearings and Appeals for failing to show fluency in the Navajo language. In 2015, Deschene joined the United States Department of Energy as the Director for the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, serving under Secretary Ernest Moniz. He served in the role through the end of the administration and aided in the transition effort. In June 2017, he joined Rosette, LLP as a partner in their Washington, D.C. office, where he practices energy law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deschene, Chris Living people Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Navajo Nation politicians Navajo people United States Naval Academy alumni United States Marine Corps officers People from Tuba City, Arizona 1970 births 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans