{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nSheila Butt is the incumbent mayor of Maury County, Tennessee, elected August 4, 2022, and sworn in August 30, 2022, succeeding Andy Ogles [1]. She is running for re-election in 2026, and the Maury County Republican Party endorsed her in the mayor's race [4][5]. She has said her priorities include controlling growth while preserving the county's character and ensuring new development bears its own infrastructure costs [2].\n\n## Background and education\nButt was born November 20, 1951, in Rockford, Illinois [1]. She earned a Bachelor of Science cum laude in English with a history minor from East Tennessee State University and completed a 1980 Women's Certificate Program at Bear Valley School of Biblical Studies [1].\n\n## Career\nButt co-founded and managed S&S Bovine Images and Tennessee Cattle Business, served as a lecturer at Freed-Hardeman University, and was managing partner of MacInk Printers, Inc. [1]. She describes herself as \"a former business owner\" [2].\n\n## Office history\nButt represented District 64 in the Tennessee House of Representatives from January 2011 to January 2019, covering Columbia, Mount Pleasant, and Spring Hill, and served as Republican Majority Floor Leader [1]. She has cited hotel/motel tax legislation for Columbia and her 2015 opposition to the federal \"Waters of the U.S.\" rule among her legislative accomplishments [2].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nIn June 2022, during the mayoral campaign, Butt was sued for defamation in Maury County Circuit Court by David Baker, a minister and former volunteer chaplain at the Maury County Jail, over text messages he alleged she sent to a Republican activist; the suit asserted she \"acted with actual malice with the intent of harming\" him [3]. As a state legislator, Butt drew criticism in 2015 for a social media post referencing the \"National Association for the Advancement of White People,\" which she later said she had intended as \"National Association for the Advancement of Western Peoples\" [1]. She also opposed rape and incest exceptions to abortion waiting periods, saying such cases are \"not verifiable,\" and in 2014 called for a state investigation into the Humane Society of the United States' fundraising practices [1].\n\n## Family\nButt is married to Stan R. Butt and has three sons [1]. One son, Kyle, directs Biblical research at Apologetics Press [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Sheila Butt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Butt) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Candidate announcement: Sheila Butt for Maury County Mayor](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/mainstreetmaury/candidate-announcement-sheila-butt-for-maury-county-mayor/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[3] [Former state lawmaker Sheila Butt sued for defamation (Tennessee Lookout)](https://tennesseelookout.com/briefs/former-state-lawmaker-sheila-butt-sued-for-defamation/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[4] [Candidates for office register with Maury County Election Commission](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/mainstreetmaury/candidates-for-office-register-with-maury-county-election-commission/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[5] [Maury County GOP endorses Sheila Butt in county mayor's race](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/mainstreetmaury/maury-county-gop-endorses-sheila-butt-in-county-mayors-race/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Maury","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Sheila","fullname":"Sheila Butt","lastname":"Butt","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Maury","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":"Maury","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":"Sheila Butt is the Republican incumbent Maury County mayor and a former Tennessee state representative for District 64, seeking re-election in 2026.","terms":[],"token":"rbqhOUO6Fw"}