About J Scott Butherus

A TRUE Florida Man. J Scott Butherus for Hillsborough County.

“There’s no easy answer for who I am — especially when, at 45, I’m still trying to figure that out. I’m a dad. A coach. An educator. A warrior. A poet. A truth seeker. A voice for those who need one. An artist. A writer. A journalist. A storyteller. A marketer. A salesman. An outdoorsman. A leader. A neighbor and a friend. A Floridian — running for the first seat of the Hillsborough County Commission.” — J Scott Butherus, 2026 Candidate Mission Statement

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A Lifelong Floridian

John Scott Butherus II — known as J Scott — was born in Punta Gorda, Florida. He grew up on its beaches and ballfields, attended Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School, and has spent his entire adult life in this state: reporting its stories, fishing its waters, building its businesses, and fighting for its future.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of Central Florida (2002) and a Master of Arts in Mass Communications (Multimedia Journalism) from the University of South Florida (2006). Today he lives in Ruskin, Hillsborough County — the heart of District 1 — where he is raising his 13-year-old son, who shares his love of the outdoors and baseball.

J Scott is not a politician who discovered Florida. He is a Floridian who is refusing to watch it disappear.

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The Journalist: 15+ Years in Florida Newsrooms

J Scott spent more than fifteen years as one of Florida’s most versatile journalists. He began his career covering the Tampa Bay Rays, Buccaneers, and Lightning for the Tampa Tribune, TBO.com, and WFLA — Media General’s flagship convergence newsroom. He went on to the Naples Daily News (Gannett), where he served as an outdoors columnist, sports writer, and host of the regional television show Prep Zone Preview.

He served as a national baseball correspondent for MLB.com and the Associated Press spring training writer, covering the game at its highest level. He also served as Executive Editor of Sharkophile.com — the internet’s leading shark conservation news publication — and taught media and journalism courses at a local community college, passing his craft to the next generation of Florida storytellers.

He served on the board of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. His friends and colleagues call him a Seeker of Truth — a description he has earned across fifteen years of deadline reporting and conservation advocacy.

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The Conservationist: Marine Advocacy & Environmental Record

J Scott’s environmental convictions are not a campaign platform. They are a biography. He became the media’s de facto authority on Gulf Coast hammerhead shark conservation — the keeper of the legend of “Old Hitler,” the mythical 20-foot-plus great hammerhead said to roam the waters between Boca Grande Pass and Tampa Bay. That work led to his appearance as a featured subject in the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week documentary Monster Hammerhead, and his appearance on Shark After Dark alongside actor Danny Trejo.

He founded Bea’s Bait Shack — an eco-friendly fishing tackle company that reinvented a beloved 1952 Boca Grande bait shop as the nation’s leading source for biodegradable, hemp-based plastic fishing baits. The company’s mission was direct: give anglers options that reduce microplastics and chemical pollutants entering marine ecosystems, from the smallest forage fish to the apex predators at the top of the food chain.

The company closed after J Scott lost his brother and co-founder, Andrew. That loss did not stop him. It made him fight harder.

He is an SSI-certified advanced underwater diver and photographer and an FAA-certified drone pilot. He has participated in and sponsored Tampa Bay area beach and water cleanup events for years.

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The Entrepreneur & Marketer: Business Career & District 1 Connection

J Scott’s marketing career has kept him embedded in the industries and communities of Hillsborough County District 1. At JL Marine (Power-Pole) in Tampa, he drove national campaigns including #PolesDownTrophiesUp and multiple product launch campaigns. He then led marketing for IntriEnergy Solar, helping drive a successful equity offering nearly twelve months ahead of schedule.

As Marketing Director for PlantVine.com, he grew gross revenue an average of 23% month-over-month in 2023 and expanded organic search traffic by 162% over two years. Today he serves as Marketing Manager for Service Minds — overseeing more than $2.4 million annually across 40-plus branches of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, One Hour Air, and Mister Sparky.

That last role is not incidental. J Scott markets to the plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians who keep District 1’s homes running every day. He knows what it costs to live in this district. He knows what is breaking. And he knows who has been ignored at the commission table.

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The Neighbor: Community & Family

J Scott lives in Ruskin, Florida — the heart of District 1. He coaches youth baseball and is raising his 13-year-old son, who shares his passion for the outdoors and the diamond. He fishes Tampa Bay. He paddles its estuaries. He knows the names of the fish that are disappearing from the waters his son will inherit.

He is running because Ruskin didn’t ask for this — the overdevelopment, the flooded streets, the backed-up drains, the aquifer that keeps dropping, the coastline that keeps shrinking. Neither did South Shore. Or East Bay. Or Brandon. And it is time someone at the commission table said so.

“I fish this water. I’ll fight for it.” — J Scott Butherus

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Why the Ecology Party of Florida

J Scott is running under the Ecology Party of Florida because its core principles are not abstractions to him. They are the reason he built an eco-tackle company. They are the reason he spent years reporting on shark conservation and marine habitat loss. They are the reason he sponsored cleanup events with his own money before it was a campaign talking point.

He is challenging Harry Cohen, the Democratic incumbent currently holding the District 1 seat, on the grounds of urgency, independence, and environmental commitment. District 1 needs a commissioner who will say no to developers when saying no is the right answer for the community — and who has a record that proves they mean it.

“We lack representation at the most basic level. I want to legislate from a place of stewardship. We owe it to ourselves not to grow beyond our means so that Florida will be Florida for generations.”