5 incumbents, 5 challengers seek Mohegan council seats

Mohegan — Five of the Mohegan Tribal Council’s nine members, including Kevin Brown, the chairman, are seeking re-election in secret-ballot voting among tribal members, tribal sources said Monday.

Ballots are being distributed this week, with voting set to conclude Aug. 27, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified.

A tribal spokeswoman said Monday the tribe’s Election Committee is not commenting on the election.

In addition to Brown, the incumbents up for re-election are Kathy Regan-Pyne, Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum, William Quidgeon Jr. and James Gessner Jr., according to the sources. Five others also emerged as candidates during a July primary process — Sarah Harris, Jay Ihloff, Linda McCarthy, Joe Soper and Aaron Athey — the sources said.

The five candidates with the most

votes will win election.

Harris, whose father, Roland Harris, is a former Mohegan Tribal Council chairman and Griswold first selectman, 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.

Soper is the brother of Cathy Soper, the tribe’s manager of communications, and a cousin of Bobby Soper, the former president and chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.

Soper and Ihloff, a cultural leader of the tribe, have been candidates for the tribal council in the past.

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.

Council members serve staggered four-year terms. The terms of four incumbent councilors — Mark Brown, Thayne Hutchins Jr., Cheryl Todd and Joe Smith — extend to 2019.