Draft:Chaz Molder

• Comment: Please note that people do not get Wikipedia articles just for standing as candidates in congressional elections they have not already won. The notability test at WP:NPOL is holding a notable political office, not just running for one, while as yet unelected candidates are eligible for Wikipedia articles only if they have preexisting notability for some other reason that would already have gotten them an article anyway.
  Mayors, meanwhile, are not automatically entitled to Wikipedia articles just for serving as mayors either -- the key to making a mayor notable enough for a Wikipedia article is not to just write that he exists as a mayor, but to write and reference substantive content about his mayoralty: specific things he did, specific projects he spearheaded, specific effects his leadership had on the development of the city, and on and so forth.
  So this could potentially be reconsidered if you add a lot more substance and sourcing about his work as mayor, and obviously things will change if he wins the congressional seat in November -- but dispatching his mayoralty with a single paragraph that briefly states that he got elected and then re-elected, while the bulk of the article is about his pending candidacy in a future election for an office he hasn't won or held yet as of today, is not how you make a politician notable. Bearcat (talk) 14:52, 14 September 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: Fails WP:GNG, WP:ANYBIO and, more particularly, WP:POLITICIAN. Paul W (talk) 10:34, 2 September 2026 (UTC)

---

Chaz Molder is an American attorney and politician who has served as mayor of Columbia, Tennessee, since 2019. During his tenure the city undertook the largest capital project in its history, an approximately $97.5 million replacement of its wastewater treatment plant, while managing rapid residential growth in Maury County south of Nashville. A Democrat, he is his party's nominee in Tennessee's 5th congressional district in the 2026 election to the United States House of Representatives, running against Republican nominee Charlie Hatcher.

Chaz Molder
Mayor of Columbia, Tennessee
Incumbent
Assumed office 2019
Personal details
Born	Columbia, Tennessee, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Elizabeth Molder
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Memphis (J.D.)
Occupation	Attorney

Early life and education

Molder is a native of Columbia, Tennessee, and attended the city's public schools. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Juris Doctor from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, where he lived for three years while completing his degree.

Legal career

Molder is an attorney with the Columbia firm Mounger & Molder.

Mayor of Columbia

Elections

Molder was first elected mayor of Columbia in 2018, winning about 65 percent of the vote, and took office in 2019. He was reelected in 2022, defeating former city councilwoman Debbie Matthews by a margin of about 58 percent to 42 percent. In 2025 he announced that he would not seek a third term as mayor.

Wastewater treatment plant

The largest undertaking of Molder's mayoralty was the replacement of Columbia's wastewater treatment plant, which had been in operation since 1978 and had reached the end of its service life. In February 2024 the city council voted unanimously to award a $95.2 million construction contract to Judy Construction, together with a $1.9 million engineering contract with JR Wauford & Company. Molder characterized the vote as historic, calling the project the largest capital expenditure in Columbia's history and one with "a shelf life of 40-plus years."

The city broke ground on the roughly $97.5 million facility on July 18, 2024. The plant was designed to raise Columbia's treatment capacity from 25 million to 35 million gallons per day, with room for further expansion, and was funded in part by a federal American Rescue Plan grant. It was scheduled to begin operating in April 2027, with the older facility to be demolished and the project completed in 2028. Molder has described the plant as the most significant capital improvement project the city has ever undertaken.

Other infrastructure

Molder's administration also rebuilt Columbia Fire & Rescue's Station No. 1. The city broke ground in February 2024 on an expansion and renovation of the 13,675-square-foot station, which dated to the late 1970s and whose replacement had been under discussion for roughly a decade. The project, which cost about $5.17 million, reopened in August 2025 and added dormitory space, a training and community room, five apparatus bays, and an emergency operations command center engineered to withstand EF-4 tornado winds. The city also pursued a widening of Bear Creek Pike in conjunction with state officials.

Growth and development

Columbia grew rapidly during Molder's tenure as part of the wider expansion of Maury County south of Nashville. The city averaged roughly 600 building permit approvals a year beginning in 2019, and about 15,000 homes were slated for construction across developments that in some cases were expected to take a decade to build out.

Molder has argued that growth is inevitable and that the city's task is to manage it. Asked about Columbia Bluffs, a proposed 1,400-home development on about 400 acres comprising 800 single-family homes, 300 townhomes, 300 apartments and a commercial site, he said, "A community is either growing, or it is dying," and said he expected the planning commission and city council to review the request under the city's zoning ordinances. Residents objected that area schools, roads and water service could not support a development of that size, and the city's wastewater system identified the site as one requiring upgrades; the planning commission deferred action on the rezoning and annexation request.

City budget

Molder has said that Columbia balanced its budgets during his tenure without raising property taxes. In June 2026 the city council approved a budget of about $84.4 million across all funds for the 2026–2027 fiscal year, again without a property tax increase.

Public safety

In 2020, Molder declared a state of emergency for Columbia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2026 the city added a $925,000 pumper engine for Columbia Fire & Rescue and a $259,200 tactical vehicle for the police department, the latter funded by a state Violent Crime Intervention Fund grant. Molder said of the city's first responders that "providing them with modern equipment and advanced resources is one of the most important investments we can make."

Downtown and tourism

Molder has tied Columbia's downtown to the city's broader economic strategy, saying he wanted to see "our downtown booming on a Saturday morning" because that is when the city's small businesses do well. Tourism spending in Maury County reached about $127 million, an increase of roughly $10 million over the previous year, while the downtown district generated about $110 million in 2022, a 16 percent increase; a Visit Columbia welcome center opened on North Main Street.

2026 congressional campaign

Molder announced his campaign for Tennessee's 5th congressional district on September 4, 2025, while still serving as mayor. Through the end of 2025 his campaign reported raising more than $1.2 million and entered 2026 with roughly $978,000 in cash on hand, a financial advantage over his Democratic primary rivals, who included Nashville Metro Council member Mike Cortese, Joyce Neal, Diana Onyejiaka, and James Torino.

After Tennessee's Republican-controlled legislature substantially redrew the state's congressional map in a mid-decade redistricting that took effect in 2026, Republican incumbent Andy Ogles lost his primary to Charlie Hatcher, a former state commissioner of agriculture and dairy farmer; the new map removed both Molder's and Hatcher's home addresses from the district. Molder said of the change, "It wouldn't have mattered where they put the lines on a map. I'm going to be a champion for all of the counties in our district and frankly, for all of Tennessee." He won the Democratic nomination on August 6, 2026, and faces Hatcher in the November 3, 2026 general election, in a race national outlets have rated as favoring the Republican candidate. Ahead of the general election Molder called for three debates, in Columbia, Memphis and Martin, saying "no voter should have to drive three hours to hear their congressional candidates debate"; Hatcher's campaign said in September 2026 that he was open to debating on a mutually agreeable timeline.

Political positions

Molder has described himself as a capitalist and has pointed to Columbia's balanced budgets without property tax increases as a model for fiscal policy. He has said tariffs have raised shipping and supply costs for small businesses in the district and that Congress should act as a check on tariff policy, has said he would not be "an enemy or an employee of the president," and has called for barring members of Congress from trading individual stocks.

On energy policy, Molder has said federal incentives for renewable energy should be consistent enough for utilities and small businesses to plan around, and has voiced support for nuclear power as a major source of the state's electricity. He has also said Tennessee should resolve how it handles nuclear waste generated within the state before taking on waste storage for other states.

Personal life

Molder is married to Elizabeth Molder, whose family is from Ripley, Tennessee; her father, Craig Fitzhugh, is a former Democratic leader in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Chaz and Elizabeth Molder have three children.

External links

• Office of the Mayor, City of Columbia, Tennessee
• Chaz Molder at Ballotpedia

Category:Living people Category:Mayors of places in Tennessee Category:Tennessee Democrats Category:People from Columbia, Tennessee Category:University of Memphis alumni Category:21st-century American politicians