Shane McFarland | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Murfreesboro | |
| Assumed office May 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Tommy Bragg [1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 5,1974 Monteagle,Tennessee [2] |
| Political party | Republican [3] |
| Education | Middle Tennessee State University (BA) |
| Website | Government website |
Shane McFarland (born August 5,1974) [4] [5] is an American politician who is currently serving as the 57th Mayor of Murfreesboro,Tennessee,since 2014. He was first elected on April 15,2014, [6] 40 years old,making him the youngest mayor in Murfreesboro history. [7] McFarland was recently re-elected in 2022. [8] Though elected in a non-partisan municipal election,McFarland is affiliated with the Republican Party. [9] [10]
Shane McFarland is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. He served as 1995-1996 MTSU Student Body (SGA) President and received his BA in Accounting in 1997. He is a 1998 graduate of Leadership Rutherford. [11]
Shane McFarland was elected to the Murfreesboro City Council in 2006. He later ran for mayor and won in 2014,and is still currently mayor,recently getting re-elected in 2022. [12]
In 2017,white nationalists groups that rallied Saturday in Shelbyville,Tennessee,were met by a large police presence and dozens of shouting counterprotesters. Hours later,a second rally planned in nearby Murfreesboro was canceled. Shane McFarland denounced the rallies. [13] [14]
In June,2023,the Murfreesboro city council enacted an ordinance outlawing “indecent exposure,public indecency,lewd behavior,nudity or sexual conduct”. A reference within the ordinance to an element of the city code that categorized homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct,meant that this change effectively banned homosexual activity. [15] The ordinance was used to deny support for local Pride events and remove books with LGBT+ content from the town library. [15] Following a First Amendment lawsuit from the ACLU and BoroPride,Murfreesboro city council voted unanimously to modify the ordinance to remove reference to homosexuality on Oct. 19,2023. [16] [17] [18]