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]

Education[edit]

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]

Career[edit]

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]

Events during mayor tenure[edit]

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]

References[edit]