Massachuessets Secretary of state candidate Tanisha Sullivan has appointed Mehreen Butt, an attorney, former legislative staffer and Wakefield town councilor, as her campaign manager, Politico said in a report. Tanisha declared her candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on September 6, 2022.
A former legislative staffer, Mehreen was the first American Muslim woman to serve as a municipal elected official in Massachusetts. She won the election for a seat in the Wakefield Town Council by running for the Democratic Party in 2017. She was then re-elected for April 2020 to April 2023 term as a Wakefield’s Council member.
“As a woman and the only person of color on the Council’s board, Butt focuses on making Wakefield a more inclusive place for its residents and newcomers. As part of the Town Council, Butt is a Liaison to several commissions, including the Police Department, the Board of Health, and the Library and Human Rights Commission,” according to her profile posted on the website of Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equalit, a New York Muslim women’s non- profit organization.
Mehreen has over 15 years of experience serving as a public policy attorney focused on healthcare, housing, food access, and civil rights issues. As a Public policy attorney dedicated to social justice, equality, and inclusion, she advocates for women’s rights, particularly a supporter of sexual and reproductive ones.
Since 2019, she acts as the Associate Director of Policy and Government Affairs at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. The NGO is committed to providing counseling, sexual and reproductive health, guaranteeing women’s reproductive rights.
Before becoming a councilor, Butt was involved in various public policy decision making positions, such as being Director of Public Policy from 2015 to 2018 at Rosie’s Place, the oldest shelter in the US dedicated to supporting homeless women, in Boston, Massachusetts. Councilor Mehreen was also a board member of the South Asian Bar Association from 2007 to 2011.
Butt formerly collaborated with the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture at the Massachusetts State House, bringing water and air safety issues, farming, and climate change to the table. Mehreen holds a Bachelor of Science from Tufts University with a degree in English, and a Juris Doctor degree from the American University, Washington College of Law.