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Zimbabwean-born American Michelle Netsai Butler has made history as the first Black judge elected in Denton County, Texas, and the first Black judge elected to public office in the United States. Butler, who is related to the family of prominent publisher and academic Professor Ibbo Mandaza, secured her historic victory on November 3 when she was elected as the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 6 in Denton County. On March 3, Butler won the Democratic primary, defeating opponent Sophia Anwar and making early history as the first Zimbabwean-American to win a major party primary in the US. Running as the Democratic nominee, she officially clinched the public office seat in the general election. In a poetic turn of events, Butler will now preside as a judge in the exact same government building where she originally obtained her marriage licence and her first American passport. She was born to Gideon Shambambeva and Victoria Njagu in Harare, Zimbabwe, where she grew up in Kambuzuma Section 6. She attended Kurai and Darwendale Primary Schools before moving to the US. She has lived in Carrollton, Texas, for over 20 years, raising two daughters and actively volunteering in the local school system. Prior to her historic judicial run, she worked as a seasoned community organiser. Her background includes working on voter access and major political campaigns across Texas, including presidential campaigns for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren. As a Texas Justice of the Peace, Butler will serve a four-year term. She will oversee Precinct 6's local community court, which acts as the first stop for everyday legal complications. Her responsibilities will include handling minor civil and small claims disputes, evictions, traffic citations, school truancy cases, and officiating marriages.