Mary Hawkins Butler | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Madison, Mississippi | |
| Assumed office 1981 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 12, 1953 Mississippi |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Belhaven University (BBA) |
Mary Hawkins Butler (born December 12, 1953) has served since 1981 as the Republican Party mayor of Madison in suburban Jackson, Mississippi. She is serving her tenth consecutive four-year term.[1] First elected to office at age twenty-eight, she is among the longest-serving mayors in the United States.
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Dedication of Isaac Hawkins Hall and Anne Marie Becraft Hall
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Associate Professor Mary Hawkins: Anthropology
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Career
She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Belhaven University in the capital city of Jackson.
Butler was an alderman prior to her election as mayor of Madison in 1981. In 2021, Butler filed a lawsuit to overturn a voter-approved medical marijuana ballot initiative.[2] She claimed there is a flaw in the state initiative process therefore medical marijuana initiative is invalid. Supreme Court of Mississippi agreed with Butler and overturned the medical marijuana initiative.[3]
Butler ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in the 2015 elections against incumbent Stacey E. Pickering of Laurel in the Republican primary.[4]
Controversies
On April 23, 2015, Hawkins Butler gave her annual "State of the City Address," in which she compared city engineer Rudy Warnock to a corrupt state official, Chris Epps. As a result, Warnock threatened a lawsuit against Hawkins Butler. She has publicly stated that she believes the entire Madison Board of Directors is corrupt, even saying that all of its members need to be replaced.[5]
In 2020, Initiative 65 was approved in Mississippi, allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana. This Initiative was approved by a majority of 74%, winning all 82 counties. Mayor Butler filed a lawsuit in the Mississippi Supreme Court asking the court to invalidate the measure. On May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Ballot Measure 1 (Initiative 65) was insufficient because it did not comply with the signature distribution requirements in the Mississippi Constitution and held that any subsequent proceeding regarding the initiatives were void. In February 2022, legislation was signed into law legalizing medical marijuana.
References
- ^ "Ridgeland, Madison mayors hold off challengers". WAPT. May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ "Mississippi Supreme Court overturns voter-approved medical marijuana initiative". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ "Mississippi Supreme Court overturns voter-approved medical marijuana initiative". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler qualifies to run for auditor". Jackson Clarion-Ledger. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ Fowler, Sarah (April 24, 2015). "'Going for the jugular' - Warnock to sue Madison mayor". The Clarion-Ledger.
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This page was last edited on 30 March 2024, at 13:56