{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWes Golden is the incumbent Montgomery County Mayor, first elected in August 2022, and is running as the Republican candidate for a second term in the Aug. 6, 2026 county general election [1][2]. His opponents are Democrat Isaac Greenwood and independent Christine Marie McNemar [2]. As of mid-July 2026 Golden led fundraising with more than $118,000 in reported contributions from mid-January to July 10, roughly 26 times the nearest opponent [3]. On the issues, Golden emphasizes opening four schools in four years, building schools near residential areas to reduce traffic and preserve farmland, job recruitment, an agricultural-education fairgrounds project, and new stormwater-management work for the Farmington area [4].\n\n## Background and education\nGolden was born and raised in Montgomery County, graduated from Clarksville High School, and studied computer science at Austin Peay State University [1].\n\n## Career\nGolden worked as an environmental health manager for a major automotive manufacturer, where the county biography states he managed the safety and health of more than 14,000 employees, and later as Health and Safety Manager for the City of Clarksville overseeing programs across 13 city departments [1]. He previously served as a firefighter and EMT for Montgomery County [1].\n\n## Office history\nGolden was elected Montgomery County Mayor in August 2022 [1]. During his first term he cites securing major private investment, creating a county fire department, and the arrival of new hospitals [2].\n\n## Family\nGolden is married to Sara and has three children, Nash, Lydia, and Mia; the family attends LifePoint Church [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [County Mayor Wes Golden \u2013 biography](https://montgomerytn.gov/mayor/bio) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Who\u2019s on ballot for Montgomery County mayor, sheriff, commission, School Board](https://clarksvillenow.com/local/whos-on-ballot-for-montgomery-county-mayor-sheriff-commission-school-board/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[3] [Wes Golden raises 26 times nearest opponent in mayor\u2019s race contributions](https://clarksvillenow.com/local/wes-golden-raises-26-times-nearest-opponent-in-montgomery-county-mayors-race-contributions/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[4] [County mayor candidates on the issues: school funding, quality-of-life, flooding](https://clarksvillenow.com/local/county-mayor-candidates-on-the-issues-school-funding-quality-of-life-projects-flooding/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Montgomery","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"WES","fullname":"WES GOLDEN","lastname":"GOLDEN","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Montgomery","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Montgomery","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":"County Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Montgomery County Mayor and Republican nominee seeking a second term in 2026; former county firefighter/EMT and city and corporate safety manager.","terms":[],"token":"0wFsJ70AbG"}