During Tennessee School Safety Week, former State Representative Brandon Ogles announced his campaign for Williamson County Mayor, pledging to stand up for local residents against unchecked growth, overdevelopment, and returning state funding back to Williamson County. Ogles is the cousin of Congressman Andy Ogles.

In 2018, Williamson County voters sent Ogles to the State House to fund school safety and fight predators across Tennessee. After being told by state officials that school safety was “a local problem” and too expensive for the state to take on, Ogles decided the best way to make change was from inside state leadership. Once elected, he championed school safety, working tirelessly with the understanding that the state was on borrowed time.
Ogles successfully passed three key pieces of legislation that placed School Resource Officers (SROs) in nearly every Tennessee public school, established threat-assessment teams, and defined and protected school security plans. His efforts laid the foundation for the more than $800 million in state funding that now supports school-safety initiatives statewide.

“Williamson County sent me to the State House to fund school safety and fight predators across Tennessee, and that’s exactly what I did,” said Ogles. “As mayor, I’ll bring that same leadership to county government. We don’t want big-city crime, big-city traffic, or big-city taxes. We want to keep our communities safe, our roads winding, and preserve our cherished way of life.”

“We’ve been blessed with so much in Williamson County, but there’s still work to do. Please help elect a mayor who’s willing to say, ‘We have enough,’ and who’s not afraid to say ‘no’ to greedy overdevelopment,” Ogles pointed out.

A proven Republican leader, Ogles made history as the first freshman legislator ever elected to leadership as the Republican Majority Caucus Vice Chairman and was appointed to the State Budget Subcommittee, a role typically reserved for senior lawmakers. An Eagle Scout from Troop 130 and former Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy, Ogles grew up in Franklin, attended Grassland Elementary, Grassland Middle, Brentwood Academy, and Franklin High, and now has four children in Williamson County Schools.

During his time in the Tennessee Legislature, Ogles earned a reputation as one of the state’s toughest lawmakers on violent crime. He wrote legislation authorizing the use of deadly force to protect victims of sexual assault and expanded asset forfeiture to include most of the state’s sexual-assault statutes, making Tennessee the first state in the nation to do so. He also passed multiple death-penalty and life-without-parole statutes to protect women and children.
One of Ogles’ laws is now likely to play a role in challenging a federal Supreme Court ruling, as Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently began the process of restoring the state’s ability to seek the death penalty for child rapists, a door Ogles’ legislation helped open.

As an advocate for law enforcement, Ogles was passionate about increasing funding for the state crime lab and worked to expedite the processing of critical evidence in sexual-assault cases. “The state has come a long way, but until evidence is processed 24/7/365, we’re doing a disservice to every resident of Tennessee,” said Ogles. “Justice should never sit on a shelf because it isn’t a priority.”

“Growth in Williamson County is no longer progress,” said Ogles. “Traffic jams, high-density subdivisions, more crime, and higher taxes are not progress. What some call ‘progress’ is devouring our farms, green space, and woodlands. You can’t widen roads wide enough to accommodate greed. As Amy Grant said best, ‘We’re tearing down paradise to put up a parking lot.’”

The primary race for County Mayor will take place in May, 2026 with the General Election in August, at the same time Williamson County voters will cast their votes in the Republican primaries for governor, Congress and state legislative races. Businessman Todd Kaestner announced his campaign in September. County Commissioner Mary Smith is also expected to announce a campaign soon.