IRVING, N.Y. — Under the Seneca Nation constitution, a president may serve multiple but not consecutive terms.

That means the Senecas will have new leadership following their November election. On Thursday, Tribal Council Member and owner of the Native Pride Travel Plaza J.C. Seneca became the first person to announce his candidacy.

"Our people are our greatest asset and we have to utilize that to get through the many challenges we face," Seneca said.

For essentially the duration of current President Rickey Armstrong, Sr.'s term, the Senecas have been negotiating a new casino gaming compact with New York State. 

If elected, J.C. Seneca expects the task to fall to him.

"I think inserting some new energy, some new vision and some new personality can help the situation and push it forward," Seneca said.

One of the key public points of contention in otherwise private negotiations is over casino revenue sharing. Under the current agreement, which expired last year but both sides are extending quarterly as they work toward a new deal, the Senecas pay the state 25% of their net slot machine revenue in return for gaming exclusivity in the region their casinos operate.

"No state has the right or authority to receive revenue unless the Indian Nation that's gaming receives just compensation for it and so in that sense, if we're not getting what we believe is value from the state, then they don't get anything," Seneca said. 

The Senecas have been giving roughly $100 million annually to the state but the candidate says he does not believe there should be any revenue sharing. As for the exclusivity, he said he welcomes new casinos to the area and points out there is already competition to the nation's flagship facility in Niagara Falls, directly across the border in Canada.

"The more the better, I think, because it gives people the opportunity to go from place to place,” Seneca said. “Plus it creates, I think, an energy for people that love to be at a casino or in gaming to come and participate in that, much like Las Vegas.”

The caucus to nominate candidates will happen Sept. 20. Seneca does not anticipate he will run unopposed. Seneca said his family has been involved in the community and government since the 1960s and his father is a former president.

He also started the J.C. Seneca Foundation, which partners with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and promotes healthy living for people of the Nation and the surrounding communities.