Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories profiling the legislators who represent southwest Mississippi.

NATCHEZ — From the City of Magnolia Board of Aldermen to the 38th District Senate seat, Kelvin Butler has made it his mission to help the citizens of Mississippi in whatever way possible.

“My job in public office has and always will be to do everything I can to make life as easy as possible for the folks I represent,” Butler said. “Whether it’s ensuring our children have great educational opportunities to everyone having good health care, my job is to make sure everyone is getting all the basic things we sometimes take for granted.”

Butler began his political journey on the City of Magnolia Board of Aldermen in 1991 after a friend, Alphonse Marks, approached him about running for an open seat.

Marks served as the first black supervisor for Pike County and the first black county agent for Pike County, a position he held for more than 30 years.

“A seat came open in Magnolia, and (Marks) came to me and said, ‘Kelvin, you need to run for that seat,’” Butler said. “Politics was the last thing on my mind at the time, but he kept on saying I needed to run.

“His encouragement and friendship led me to run for that seat.”

Butler won the election and ended up serving on the board for 12 years.

The time spent on the Magnolia board was a valuable learning experience that Butler said all lawmakers should go through before running for a State of Mississippi Legislative position.

“That’s where the rubber meets the road,” Butler said. “You have these little ordinances that you don’t think about at the time, but they affect a lot of people.

“That is as close to politics and lawmaking as you can get because you’re dealing with and passing things for the people you deal with everyday.”

Butler attempted to advance his political career by running for a seat in the House of Representatives in 1995 and again in 1999.

After losing those elections, Butler ran for Senate in 2003, won the election and took office in 2004.

A decade later, Butler is in his third term and said he’s managed to stick to his principles throughout his tenure on the hill.

“The key is to focus on helping others and hearing what the people want for their community,” Butler said. “If you make it about the people and have their support, it makes a world of difference.”

Butler said a bill he introduced in 2009 that extended by six months the time required for an intermediate and beginning driver to obtain a permanent license was one of the highlights of his political career.

Senate Bill 2280 allowed 16 year olds to qualify for an intermediate license, which allows some unsupervised driving, instead of the previous age of 15 1/2.

Butler said the extra time allowed teenagers to develop safer-driving skills.

“I wouldn’t say it defined me as a legislator, but I worked on it for five years, so it was certainly important to me,” Butler said. “We were losing so many of our young people, and anything we could do to save those lives I was going to do.”

Butler, a Magnolia native, earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Meadow Draughon Business College in New Orleans.

Butler retired from Delphi Automotive Systems, a Brookhaven manufacturing plant, in 2006 after 30 years of employment.

Butler’s wife of 23 years died in 2001 following a fight with breast cancer. The couple had three children together — Kelvin Jr., 33; Kendrick, 25; and Destiny, 20.

Butler remarried four years ago.

Butler said he’s proud of the accomplishments the Legislature has put forth during his tenure and hopes to continue those efforts in the future.

“I still have a few more years in me,” Butler said. “As long as I’m alive, I will continue to fight to make sure our working families have everything they need — jobs, health care and education.”