Cyrus Ben has been reelected chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Ben got 62 per cent of the vote according to the unofficial results of Tuesday’s tribal elections beating his two challengers including former chief Phyllis Anderson. 215 absentee ballots will be counted Wednesday but that’s not enough to change the outcome of the chief’s race. Almost 850 votes separated Ben and Anderson.
Those absentee ballots could affect some of the close races for tribal council. In Bogue Homa, Berdie Steve was one vote ahead of incumbent Michael Briscoe. Only two votes separated Samuel John and incumbent Richard Issac for one of the two council positions in Red Water. And two votes separated Dorothy Bell Wilson and incumbent Wilma Simpson-McMillan in Tucker. The leaders in the other tribal council races: incumbent Ronnie Henry Senior in Bogue Chitto, Ricky Anderson Senior for the other position in Red Water, incumbent Richard Sockey in Standing Pine , incumbent Timothy Thomas Senior in Conehatta and incumbent Nigel Gibson in Pearl River.
