Election Commission Members

Will “Butch” Burns is an attorney with degrees from Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law. Mr. Burns spent almost 30 years in state government positions largely dedicated to public policy development and implementation and representing his agencies before the General Assembly. His work was mostly in public higher education, as well as five years as the State Coordinator of Elections.

As elections coordinator, Mr. Burns worked with county election officials to seek passage of legislation to create and then implement Early Voting and agency-based voter registration in Tennessee. He also held several leadership positions in the National Association of State Election Directors.

Mr. Burns is a Colson Fellow of the Colson Center of Christian Worldview and has served on various nonprofit boards, currently including Williamson College, The Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture, and Graffiti Ministries Learning Center in Brooklyn, NY.

He and his wife Maribeth have been married for over 40 years, have two daughters and five grandchildren, and are active at The Village Chapel. Mr. Burns enjoys running, live music events, and spending time with his family.

Kenny Byrd, a Nashville native, is a dedicated attorney, neighborhood leader, proud parent and an active participant in civic issues. Kenny earned his undergraduate degree from Samford University and received his law degree from Boston College Law School.

Mr. Byrd is a trial attorney representing clients in mass tort cases, defective product cases and consumer fraud litigation at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, a plaintiff-side national law firm that engages in complex litigation nationwide. Mr. Byrd also represents whistleblowers in litigation to stop fraud and the misuse of taxpayer funds.

In recent years, Mr. Byrd has been a leading attorney among firms working in concert on national opioid litigation – helping reclaim millions in taxpayer funds for the city of Nashville and other Tennessee governments for localized response to the national opioids crisis; as well as recovery of funds from a massive retirement embezzlement scheme defrauding thousands of pastors in Tennessee and across the nation.

Mr. Byrd received the Tennessee Association for Justice’s 2015 Paladin Award for his successful litigation against cigarette manufacturers R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Philip Morris USA Inc., and Lorillard Tobacco Company in Florida federal courts. The Paladin Award is TAJ’s highest honor and is given to the state’s top trial lawyer each year. Mr. Byrd’s successful work on these cases included several multi-million dollar jury verdicts that were upheld on appeal.

Mr. Byrd is an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University School of Law and a member of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Board of Governors. Mr. Byrd has been cited in various media outlets regarding his expertise in successful jury trials against Big Tobacco and he speaks regularly at conferences nationwide about complex litigation. Mr. Byrd, a product of Nashville public schools himself, was active in Historic Edgefield Neighborhood Association for many years and has given his time to local organizations that support strong and equitable public schools.

Betty Lynn Duley is a long-time resident of Middle Tennessee. She works part-time at the Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, holding a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Berry College and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary.

For over a decade she worked in environmental health with a local agency of the Environmental Protection Agency. She was also the director of an innovative program for people with early to mid-stage dementia. Ms. Duley remains an avid student of development and research in medicine.

Having served as a Poll Official in Davidson County since 2008, Ms. Duley continues her family’s tradition of being civically engaged and committed to the betterment of their local community. The spirit of involvement modeled by her parents and grandparents is woven into the fabric of her life.

Betty Lynn serves as an officer of the Board of Directors of her homeowners’ association and faithfully attends World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.