“If anything, I just want even me running to show the younger residents of Starkville that they have a place in municipal government,” Betts said. “Whether it is having a voice, whether it’s voting, whether it’s running, whether it’s working in the city government, they belong there.”
Sitting in a booth in the basement of High Ground Coffee, Brenna Betts drinks a hot chai latte. She is wearing an Eagles jersey, a testament to the team’s win in the Super Bowl the night before. She has just gotten off work, and the quiet bustling of the coffee shop is just what she needs to relax before her second job starts.
Betts, a teacher at Starkville High School and Mississippi State University alumna, is running for mayor of Starkville. At 25 years old, she is the youngest of the four candidates running.
“It became a running joke, ‘You can run for mayor,’ and I was like, ‘That’s crazy, that’s insane,’” Betts said as she sipped on her drink. “But here we are, and it’s not so crazy or insane anymore.”
Betts first discussed the topic of running for mayor with her close friends in Starkville, many of whom have been active with the College Democrats chapter at MSU over the years. She said it first came up when she was a graduate student in the College of Education. She realized that there are many issues within the city that undergraduate students are completely unaware of that regular citizens of Starkville may face every day.
For example, Betts cited the lack of sidewalks in many areas of the city. Betts said that when a person is without a car, or the weather does not allow them to drive anywhere, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to navigate the city. She said that it was issues like that being ignored by the current government that encouraged her to run.
Some other issues in Starkville that encouraged Betts’ involvement in the city government include issues within schools and complacency among current government officials. On some levels, Betts has even taken these issues into her own hands as a teacher at Starkville High School. Walker Lake, a field organizer for Betts’ campaign and a sophomore civil engineering major, recounted that Betts will often pay for her students to eat lunch at school if they do not have the money to buy it themselves.
“I think it’s really awesome and sweet,” Lake said. “Especially as a teacher, you’re not paid a lot to begin with.”
Lake met Betts through their mutual involvement with the MSU chapter of College Democrats. He said that his first impression of her in 2023 was people telling him that she was going to run for mayor of Starkville.
Betts’ campaign officially kicked off on Feb. 1 at Fire Station Park. Betts, who has worked at Starkville High School since 2023 as a science teacher, said that running for mayor is not about getting out of the classroom but starting a conversation on getting involved in local government.
Betts said that when she first applied to run, she was not sure how much support she would garner from the community. However, she said that she has been happily overwhelmed with support from many residents. She said that she has great hope for the Democratic primary elections on April 1.
Outside of her recent campaigning, Betts lives a quiet life with her husband, Logan Betts. She said that while she has lots of hobbies, she has trouble finishing hobby projects. However, she has recently been engaged in a project where she crochets different fish.
Betts also volunteers part of her time to help with MSU’s Speech and Debate Council. Devin Hutchins, Betts’ campaign manager and MSU senior economics and philosophy major, noted that Betts is included in a group chat with debate team members, including himself.
“Anytime somebody says something or, you know, they make a joke, or they say something crazy, she always has a reaction image to send the group chat,” Hutchins said. “Frankly, she’s just hilarious.”
Additionally, she said she enjoys cycling and has been an “on-and-off member” of the Starkville Cycling Club for several years. She also enjoys beach sailing, playing video games and reading when she can.
“My dad gave me the middle name ‘Galadriel’ from ‘Lord of the Rings,’” Betts said with a straight face. “I’m a little bit biased, but ‘The Hobbit’ is my favorite book of all time.”
Betts was raised in Brunswick, Georgia, by her mother and father. She described her parents as being a “blue dot” in southern Georgia, meaning they tended to vote for Democrats in elections despite the vast majority of their community being Republican. Her parents went to college in Mississippi, with her father graduating from MSU and her mother graduating from Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. Betts said that her parents had a massive impact on the values that have defined her campaign.
“The crux of growing up with liberal parents and growing up Catholic is that shelter and food are fundamental,” Betts said, pausing. “In an actual democracy, everyone has a voice.”
Betts’ ultimate goal with running is to get more young people involved with municipal government, and she hopes she can make a difference in Starkville along the way. Her website says that she is “determined to lead with heart to create a more inclusive, thriving city for all residents.” Betts said that none of it would be possible without the support of her friends, family and the greater Starkville community.
“It takes a village,” Betts said. “I could never do it by myself, and being able to find people passionate about helping me and willing to support me and my crazy story means more to me than I think any of them will ever know.”
