Ben ready for 2nd term as Chief

Chief Cyrus Ben says he is ready for the challenge after being re-elected to a second term as chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Ben won re-election with 1,997 or 61.6% of the vote. 

Phyliss Anderson, who held the position of Tribal Chief from 2011 until 2019, came in second with 1,096 votes. Tarina K. Anderson received 149 votes.

“I am humbled by the overwhelming support from the Tribal voters,” said Ben. “I love my Tribe. From day one, my main promise was to work hard moving our Tribe in the right direction. I have fulfilled this promise and will continue to do so.

“Martin Luther King, Jr., stated, ‘The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges,’” Ben said. “We have done a great deal of work over the past four years, through the Pandemic and multiple states of emergencies, and I am honored the voters saw that and chose to allow me to stay in this position. For as long as the people see fit, and even after, I will work tirelessly for this Tribe. I’ve never hit the brakes since I took oath in 2019 and have no plan to slow down. There is more for us to do. Again, I thank all those that supported me. It’s time to come together as a Tribe and keep moving forward in the right direction.”

Tribal Council positions are won by a majority count, even if the winner does not receive more than half of the votes cast, and an individual can win by just one vote. After absentee ballots were counted, the Tribal Council outcomes are as follows:

 • In Bogue Chitto (Neshoba/Kemper Counties) incumbent Ronnie Henry, Sr. won his seat with 316 out of a total 455 votes;

 • In Bogue Homa (Jones County) challenger Berdie M. Steve unseated incumbent Michael Briscoe by just three votes, 58 to 55;

 • In Conehatta (Newton County) incumbent Timothy Thomas, Sr. retained his seat with a final count of 115 votes;

• In Pearl River (Neshoba County) 20 candidates vied for one seat with incumbent Nigel Gibson winning with 229 votes;

 • In Red Water (Leake County) two seats were up for grabs among 11 candidates. Ricky Anderson, Sr. and Samuel John won with 139 and 113, respectively;

 • In Standing Pine (Leake County) incumbent Richard Sockey won his race with 143 votes.

• In Tucker (Neshoba County) challenger Dorothy Bell Wilson won with 124 votes against incumbent Wilma Simpson-McMillan who received 122 votes.

The next Tribal Election will be in June 2025 where the other nine Tribal Council positions will be up for election.