Mary Hawkins Butler


Mary Hawkins Butler has served since 1981 as the Republican Party mayor of Madison in suburban Jackson, Mississippi. Commonly known as "Mayor Mary", she is serving her tenthconsecutive four-year term. First elected to office at age twenty-eight, she is among the longest-serving mayors in the United States.
Butler was an alderman prior to her election as mayor. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Belhaven University in the capital city of Jackson. In 2010, she graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy Program.
Butler ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in the 2015 elections against incumbent Stacey E. Pickering of Laurel in the Republican primary.

Career

Under the Butler administration, Madison was recognized in 2007 by Family Circle Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Towns for Families in America" and in 2005 by CNN/Money Magazine as 55th among "The 100 Best Places to Live in the USA."
Butler was a charter member of the Madison City Chamber of Commerce, her local Lions International, and Simmons Arboretum.

Recognition

During her time as Mayor, Madison became a Sister City to Sollefteå, Sweden. Butler was recognized in 1998 by Sister Cities International as having the "Best First Year Program Worldwide" for cities under 100,000. In 2004, she was named Member First Class of the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the King of Sweden. Madison was the first recipient city in the United States to have a 100 percent foreign-financed business incubator with assistance from the European Union.

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.