Mack Butler
| Mack N. Butler | |
Alabama State Representative
for District 30 (Etowah and St. Clair counties) | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 12, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Blaine Galliher |
|---|---|
| Born | April 27, 1963 Birmingham, Alabama |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Connie P. Butler |
| Children | Morgan, Caleb, Connor, and Carson Butler |
| Residence | Rainbow City Etowah County Alabama |
| Alma mater | Gadsden High School Gadsden State Community College |
| Occupation | Electrician Property investor |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Mack N. Butler (born April 27, 1963) is an electrician and property investor from Rainbow City, near Gadsden, Alabama, who is a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives for District 30 in Etowah and St. Clair counties in the northeastern portion of his state.
Born in Birmingham, Butler was reared in Gadsden and graduated from Gadsden High School and Gadsden State Community College and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Academy in Birmingham.[1] He also attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.[2] He has been employed by Butler Electrical Contractors in Gadsden. Since 2002, he has been the proprietor of Butler Properties. He is a member of the executive board of the Alabama Public Library in the capital city of Montgomery a former member of the Etowah County School Board. He is a former deputy sheriff for Etowah County. Butler was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention, which nominated U.S. Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin, then the governor of Alaska. He was an alternate delegate to the 2004 conclave in New York City, which re-nominated U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. He is a member of CrossPoint Community Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Gadsden. He and his wife, Connie, have four children, Morgan, Caleb, Connor, and Carson Butler.[1]
Butler won a special election to the House late in 2012 called because of the resignation of Blaine Galliher, who became the legislative director for then Governor Robert Bentley. He defeated intraparty rival Rob McHugh in the Republican primary on October 23 and the Democrat Elizabeth Golson "Beth" McGlaughn in the general election on December 11. In 2014, Butler won a full term in the office. After he defeated Robert McKay in the Republican primary, 4,039 votes (59 percent) to 2,811 (41 percent), he was unopposed in the November 4 general election.[2]
Butler is the vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a member of two other committees: (1) Education Policy and (2) State Government.[1]
In 2013, Representative Butler voted to establish requirements for medical care at abortuaries in Alabama. The next year he co-sponsored the prohibition of abortion after the detection of the heartbeat of the unborn child. In 2014, Butler voted for the display of the Ten Commandments on state property, a measure which passed, 77-19. He voted to require drug testing for certain recipients of the public welfare program. In 2015, he sponsored legislation affirming the use of electrocution in executions. He voted to establish public charter schools in Alabama, a measure which passed the House, 58-41. He voted to permit the home schooled to participate in public school athletic events, a measured approved by the full House, 52-43. He voted to increase the cigarette tax, which passed the House, 52-46.[3]
In 2016, Butler supported legislation to forbid the sale of fetal tissue or to permit its use in research, and he opposed dilation abortions in Alabama. He did no vote on the matter of additional funding for new prison facilities, a measure which passed the House, 52-33. In 2017, he voted to authorize midwives to practice in his state, a measure which won House approval, 84-11. He voted to reduce the time for appeals from inmates on death row. He voted to prohibit judicial override of sentencing guidelines, which passed the House, 78-19. Butler was the chief sponsor of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, which prohibits alteration or removal of historic Confederate monuments throughout the state. The measure passed the House, 72-29.[3]
Butler ran the 4th congressional district campaign for conservative Republican former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore for the United States Senate seat vacated by now Attorney General Jeff Sessions.[4] Moore now faces a liberal Democrat, former United States Attorney Doug Jones, in the December 12 special election.
In 2018, Butler will not seek reelection to the House but will instead contest the District 10 seat in the Alabama State Senate, being vacated by the retiring Republican Phil Williams, also of Rainbow City in Etowah County. The Senate district includes Cherokee and DeKalb counties as well as Butler's Etowah.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mack Butler's Biography. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 27, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mack Butler. Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved on October 27, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mack Butler's Voting Records. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 21, 2017.
- ↑ Mike Casson (August 22, 2017). Roy Moore gets endorsements from 14 Alabama lawmakers. Al.com. Retrieved on October 20, 2017.
- ↑ Rep. Mack Butler announces run for Alabama Senate seat (September 1, 2017). Retrieved on October 29, 2017.
