Mashpee Wampanoags elect council member

MASHPEE, Mass. (AP) – A woman who once spearheaded elections for the Mashpee Wampanoags has won a seat on the tribal council.

The Cape Cod Times reports that Patricia Keliinui received 135 votes in Sunday’s election, just under half of the total 275 cast. Carlton Hendricks Jr. came in a close second with 102 votes.

Keliinui, who had served on the elections committee, will fill the seat left vacant when Richard Oakley resigned in October. She will serve until the tribe’s general election in February 2011.

The federally recognized tribe wants to build a billion-dollar resort casino in Middleborough.