Seminole Nation voters chose Brian Thomas Palmer to serve as their Assistant Chief in the Saturday, Aug. 7 run-off election.

According to the Seminole Nation Election Board Official results, Thomas received 564 votes (59.9 percent) compared to 378 votes (40.1) for his challenger, Anthony Dewayne “Buddy” Wood. The run-off was scheduled after none of the seven candidates running for assistant chief received a majority (over 50 percent) of the votes in the July 10 General Election.

Palmer will replace Assistant Chief Lewis Johnson, who will be serving as Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Chief after successfully challenging incumbent Chief Greg Chilcoat and receiving nearly sixty percent (59.5) of the vote in a three-way race in the July election. Johnson, Palmer, and elected members of the General Council will be sworn in on Saturday, Sept. 4. This ceremony will be held at the Mekusukey Mission grounds located south of Seminole.

According to a candidate bio published by the nondoc. com website, Palmer previously served as chief and assistant band chief of the Tusekia Harjo Band. After serving six years in the seat, Palmer resigned from the band chief position in 2020 when his wife was diagnosed with cancer.

Palmer also served oneterm as the chairman of the Etolwv en Mekko, the organization which encompasses the band chiefs of the 12 Seminole Nation blood bands. Palmer previously served as a compliance officer and operations manager for the Seminole Nation Division of Commerce, as well as general manager for Chickasaw Nation Enterprises and for Love’s Country Stores.

In a statement provided to nondoc.com, Johnson stated “First, I would like to say thank you to Mr. Wood for his compassion for our people and wanting to serve as the assistant chief. Today our people came together and voted on our Independence Day. It displayed that our traditional way of governing is alive and well. I am proud and humbled to be the next assistant chief as I follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, Tom Chito Palmer. I look forward to uniting with our newly elected Chief Lewis Johnson and being instrumental in moving our nation forward by strengthening our sovereignty and building our nation along with the support of our General Council. For us to prosper, we must unite and be stewards of this nation. We must honor the sacrifices of our ancestors and care for our elders and children, our lands, and our traditional ways. We must remember that we are all st’cate people at the end of the day and working together is the only way we will persevere. Mvto.”

During his campaign, Palmer expressed his interest in increasing law enforcement capacity within the Seminole Nation following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma. He expressed his concerns about the absence of a detention center. This is an issue the incoming leaders will need to work out with the Seminole Board of County Commissioners, who have extended the current contract Seminole County has with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma to house prisoners in the Seminole County jail through September 30. The original contract was scheduled to run out at the end of June.

Palmer has also said he would like to invest in the infrastructure needs of the Seminole, especially water needs a the Mekusukey Mission grounds and the Sasakwa community. He also mentioned investing in renewable energy sources.

Another issue Palmer has focused on is funding broadband infrastructure that would provide better coverage across the Seminole Nation boundaries. He has observed that the Seminole Nation’s broadband was not prepared for distance learning during the shutdown caused by the COVID pandemic.

In the Saturday election, both candidates received 61 votes in the Sasakwa District and 21 votes in the Strother District. Palmer received 167 votes in the Mekusukey District, while Woods received 138. The Oklahoma City District was the only one where Woods received a majority of the votes, 45 to Palmer’s 42. The Shawnee District went to Palmer, 54 to 27. Palmer had an overwhelming lead in absentee votes, receiving a total of 219 compared to 86 for Wood.