Thomas King Butt is an American politician and architect serving as the sixth mayor of
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a city council. . He was vice-mayor in 2002 and 2012 and a member of the Richmond
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...
for over 20 years before being elected mayor.
He is the longest continuously serving council member in Richmond's history.
Early life and education
Butt was born in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...
and raised in
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington unt ...
. His father, Thomas F. Butt, served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and later became a judge in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
. Butt's mother was a librarian in the
Fayetteville Public Library
The Fayetteville Public Library (also Blair Library and FPL) is a library in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver-certified library was named "Library of the Year" in 2005 by ''Library Journal'' ...
. Butt earned a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Architecture from the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...
, followed by a Master of Architecture from the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...
.
Career
As an undergraduate, Butt spent summers working for the
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Nationa ...
in
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
. Butt joined the
in 1966 and was deployed to
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
shortly after. He served until 1970. After leaving the Army, Butt married his wife, Shirley, in 1971. They lived in
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...
before moving to
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, Californi ...
in 1973.
Butt is the president of Interactive Resources, a local architectural firm. He is also a contractor and former real estate broker. Butt founded and is the president of the East Brother Light Station, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on maintaining the historic
East Brother Island Lighthouse on
East Brother Island, a
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
landmark on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. Butt founded and remains a board member of Rosie the Riveter Trust (named for
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...
), the non-profit partner of
located in Richmond.
Politics
He won the Richmond mayoral election of 2014 and succeeded
Gayle McLaughlin
Gayle McLaughlin (born 1952) is an American politician from Richmond, California. She was first elected to the Richmond City Council in 2004 when she was a member of the Green Party of California. She won two consecutive four-year terms as the ...
as mayor. He was sworn in by Lieutenant Governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...
on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.
His relationships with other city leaders deteriorated over time, and in 2021, he said "I’m pretty much a
lame duck" and indicated that he would exit political life.
References
External links
Tom Buttofficial site
Interactive ResourcesTom Buttcity of Richmond profile
SmartVoterTom Butt profile
Living people
Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area
Richmond City Council members (California)
Architects from California
Mayors of Richmond, California
21st-century American politicians
1944 births
{{California-mayor-stub
University of Arkansas alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
People from Fayetteville, Arkansas