Kevin Brown re-elected; Bozsum out in tribal vote

Mohegan — Kevin Brown, the retired Army colonel elected chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council in 2013, won re-election to a second fouryear council term in voting among tribal members that concluded Sunday, according to tribal sources who asked to remain anonymous.

Brown and three other incumbents — Kathy Regan-Pyne, William Quidgeon Jr. and James Gessner Jr. — were elected along with a newcomer, Sarah Harris, the daughter of Roland Harris, a former council chairman and first selectman of Griswold.

Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum, another former council chairman, failed to win re-election.

A total of 10 candidates vied for the five council seats up for election. Four other council seats were not up for election. Voting took place by secret ballot over the last several weeks.

The tribe’s Election Committee indicated in advance that it would have no comment on the election results.

The council will elect officers when the newly elected councilors’ terms commence in October.

Sarah Harris is a former chief of staff in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 2016, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development named her one of 40 emerging leaders under the age of 40.

The council governs the 2,100-member tribe and also serves as the management board of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, which operates the tribe’s gaming enterprises, including its flagship casino, Mohegan Sun.

Brown, 52, has presided over a rapid expansion of the tribe’s gaming and non-gaming business ventures, including its pursuit of a third Connecticut casino in a partnership with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, development of a casino resort in Incheon, South Korea, and additions to Mohegan Sun.

According to a tribal source, Regan-Pyne, one of the incumbents re-elected, was the top vote-getter in the balloting.

The four councilors whose terms were not up this year are Mark Brown, Kevin Brown’s brother; Thayne Hutchins Jr.; Cheryl Todd; and Joe Smith.