{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBeth Pafford is the Democratic nominee for DeKalb County Mayor in the August 6, 2026 general election, facing Republican Patrick Ray and independent Brandon Bates [1]. She was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary [2]. In announcing her campaign, Pafford said she is running \"because I care about the people of DeKalb County\" and pledged leadership that \"listens, asks lots of questions, does the homework, and keeps the public informed every step of the way\" [3].\n\n## Background and education\nPafford and her husband Mark, appointed minister of the Smithville First United Methodist Church-Bright Hill charge, moved to Smithville in 2002; their four children graduated from DeKalb County High School [3]. She earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Western Kentucky University and a master's in instructional leadership from Tennessee Tech, and is pursuing an Education Doctorate at Middle Tennessee State University [3]. She was part of the Leadership DeKalb Class of 2016 [3].\n\n## Career\nPafford has worked in public schools for 20 years, 18 of them in DeKalb County, and is currently assistant principal at Northside Elementary School [3].\n\n## Office history\nPafford was first elected to the DeKalb County Commission from District 7 in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, serving eight years [3][1][4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [New County Mayor and Sheriff to be Elected August 6 \u2014 WJLE Radio](https://www.wjle.com/new-county-mayor-and-sheriff-to-be-elected-august-6-early-voting-begins-friday-july-17/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Stage Set for May 5th DeKalb Republican and Democratic Primaries \u2014 WJLE Radio](https://www.wjle.com/stage-set-for-may-5th-dekalb-republican-and-democratic-primaries-with-only-one-contested-district-race/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [Beth Pafford Seeks Democratic Nomination for County Mayor \u2014 WJLE Radio](https://www.wjle.com/beth-pafford-seeks-democratic-nomination-for-county-mayor/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[4] [DeKalb County Election Commission \u2014 Elected Officials](https://www.dekalbelections.com/elected-officials/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Dekalb","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"BETH","fullname":"BETH PAFFORD","lastname":"PAFFORD","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Dekalb","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Dekalb","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"D","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":"County Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Democratic nominee for DeKalb County Mayor; assistant principal and educator who has represented District 7 on the county commission since 2018.","terms":[],"token":"ztUW6SIyDp"}