{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nScotty Bush is the Republican Party nominee for Sumner County School Board District 1, facing Democrat Jill Fernelius on the August 6, 2026 ballot [1]. His stated priorities are school safety and emergency preparedness, supporting and empowering educators, open communication with parents and community, and efficient budget management; he has called for expanding career and technical education (CTE) options to include pathways for first responders [2][3].\n\n## Background and education\nBush is a 59-year lifelong Hendersonville resident who attended Walton Ferry, Lakeside, and Gene Brown elementary schools, Hawkins Junior High, and Hendersonville High School (graduating in 1985), and attended Volunteer State Community College [2].\n\n## Career\nHe spent nearly 40 years with the Hendersonville Fire Department, retiring in 2025 as Fire Chief after 10.5 years in that role; as chief he led 120 employees and oversaw a $15 million budget [2][3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Federal and State Primary, State Judicial and Sumner County General Elections Sample Ballot](https://www.votesumnertn.org/uploads/files/884379eec0cf6e5fb6f5678acff70a3783bde79d.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Scotty Bush for School Board District 1 \u2014 campaign site](https://voteforscotty.com/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[3] [King, Lancaster and Lacy elected to school board / Sumner school-board coverage \u2014 Main Street Media of Tennessee](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/hendersonvillestandard/campaign-announcement-scotty-bush-for-school-board-district-1/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board_district_1","county":"Sumner","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"School Board Member District 1"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"SCOTTY","fullname":"SCOTTY BUSH","lastname":"BUSH","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board_district_1","contest_title":"School Board Member District 1","county":"Sumner","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_school_board_district_1","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_school_board_district_1","contest_title":"School Board Member District 1","county":"Sumner","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_school_board_district_1","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_school_board_district_1","office_title":"School Board Member District 1","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Republican nominee for School Board District 1; retired Hendersonville fire chief and lifelong resident focused on school safety and budget management.","terms":[],"token":"unxm2werLw"}