Public debate is one of the oldest traditions this country has. Long before there were national parties or 24-hour news, there were town squares, courthouse steps, and church halls, where neighbors stood before neighbors and made their case in plain sight. It is how a self-governing people are supposed to choose their leaders: not by slogan, but by standing up and answering for yourself. That tradition is harder to find at the state and national level than it used to be. It is alive and well in Maury County.

Tennesseans got a reminder of the former this month. NewsChannel 5's planned July 20 Republican gubernatorial debate between Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. John Rose, and State Rep. Monty Fritts was cancelled after Blackburn declined to attend, citing scheduled Senate votes, and Rose withdrew rather than debate without her. Whatever the reasons, voters lost a chance to hear all three candidates answer for themselves in the same room.

The Maury Alliance County Mayoral Candidate Forum, held July 9 at the Cherry Theater on the Columbia State Community College campus, gave voters their clearest side-by-side look yet at incumbent Mayor Sheila Butt and challenger Gabe Howard, a sitting Maury County commissioner. Moderated by Maury Alliance President and CEO Will Evans, the ninety-minute forum covered growth, water, infrastructure, public safety, housing, and communication, with each candidate given two minutes per question.

The forum grew tense at several points, particularly during exchanges about how the two have worked together on the county commission. Readers weighing this race are better served by where the candidates actually differ on policy, which is considerable.

Growth and the Columbia Dam

Both candidates agree Maury County needs long-term land-use planning, but split over whether the zoning ordinance should have come before or after that blueprint.

Howard argued the county did it backwards, passing a new zoning ordinance before the county had a comprehensive plan to guide it. "We should have been looking at creating the blueprint and then showing up with the tools," he said, noting he voted against the zoning ordinance for that reason. Butt countered that the existing zoning code was outdated regardless of sequencing and needed replacing to raise the quality of new construction while the comprehensive plan is finished in parallel.

The sharpest disagreement of the night was the Columbia Dam. Howard noted the county commission has passed three resolutions related to the dam and its feasibility study, and said Butt, who sits on the Duck River Planning Partnership, has never publicly taken a position on it. Butt said the dam is a federally funded project, that she has reviewed the relevant congressional appropriations language herself, and that she won't commit the county's name to a project without clarity on what, if anything, it would cost Maury County taxpayers.

On paying for growth broadly, Butt pointed to the county's opt-in to the County Powers Act, a possible real estate transfer tax split with the state, and rising local sales tax revenue as new development brings in businesses. Howard countered that the county's adequate facilities tax, charged to developers, hasn't been raised in twenty years, and called for the county to pursue real impact fees the way neighboring counties already have.

Infrastructure and Public Safety

Both candidates pointed to strained infrastructure as growth continues, though Howard offered more specifics. He raised a structural fact worth its own scrutiny: Maury County's fire department is not, legally, a county department at all. It operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, staffed predominantly by volunteers with only six paid fire department members. Howard argued it should be brought under the county umbrella.

Both candidates also addressed the ongoing ambulance shortage on the Spring Hill side of the county line, an issue this paper has covered previously as Williamson Health has weighed ending its decades-long EMS coverage of the Maury County side of Spring Hill. Butt confirmed the county currently fields nine ambulances total and said she has been in direct talks with Spring Hill's mayor about a possible arrangement to keep Williamson's coverage in place. Howard said he had served on the county's ambulance committee until he was removed from it. Butt disputed that characterization, saying people on the committee had said they could not work with him.

On roads, Butt cited the decade-long push to secure the I-65 interchange and the recent addition of the Bear Creek Pike widening to the state's ten-year plan as evidence that infrastructure requires sustained, patient coordination across state, city, and county lines. Howard argued the county mayor's office should be doing more proactive planning rather than waiting for problems, like a recent bridge closure, to force the county's hand.

Housing and Homelessness

Butt pointed to the county's partnership with Habitat for Humanity and a new director at the Family Center now focused specifically on homelessness services. Howard, who said he encounters homeless residents regularly walking downtown Columbia, argued the response needs to be a coordinated effort between county government, the cities, and local churches, and raised a concern that national homebuilders may be a driver of rising housing costs locally.

Communication and Working Together

Butt pointed to a redesigned county website with meeting notifications, her personal Facebook presence, and open commission and budget committee meetings as evidence residents already have access to county government if they seek it out. Howard argued the county has historically been slow to adopt basic public communication tools and said residents shouldn't have to dig through agendas and secondhand social media posts to know what their government is doing.

Both candidates say collaboration is their strength; both accused the other, in different ways, of falling short of it in practice.

What's Next

Early voting begins Friday, July 17, and runs through August 1, with election day set for August 6.

Sources: Maury Alliance County Mayoral Candidate Forum, Columbia State Community College, July 9, 2026. The Muletown Journal prior reporting on Spring Hill EMS coverage, July 2, 2026. NewsChannel 5, "NewsChannel 5 to Host Tennessee GOP Gubernatorial Debate on July 20th."