By Maria Rakoczy (maria@themadisonrecord.com)

MADISON COUNTY – Madison County Commission has a new chairman in town in the person of Mac McCutcheon. McCutcheon retired from his former position as Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives in 2022 after sixteen years in the state legislature and six years as Speaker. Now, McCutcheon is serving North Alabama in a different way by filling out the rest of the term vacated by previous Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong, who is now a member of the United States House of Representatives.

The shift is something of a homecoming for McCutcheon, who accepted an appointment to the position from Governor Kay Ivey.

“It’s good to come home,” said the Madison County native. McCutcheon was born and raised in the Toney community and even met his wife at Sparkman High School. His dedication to serving Madison County is a personal and life-long one, stemming from his time in law enforcement.

Today, McCutcheon says he is looking to keep Madison County a beautiful place to live by improving local infrastructure, supporting public safety, and preserving the area’s natural resources. He stated he understands that the growth Madison County has experience in recent years has brought both blessings and challenges, and he is focused on tackling the challenges and enhancing the blessings. In this pursuit, McCutcheon plans to prioritize the upkeep of roads around the county, but especially the artery of Madison County, I-565.

“Madison County’s growing, and it’s bringing in more revenue than we’ve ever had, and that’s a good thing, but along with that comes the challenges to provide services for the roads, to provide highway systems and roads, where people can get to where they’re going without having to sit in traffic for hours and hours. All of these are great challenges we are facing,” McCutcheon shared.

Public safety is another issue on his mind as a former member of law enforcement himself. He expressed his gratitude to law enforcement for their work in keeping Madison County a safe place to live and work. McCutcheon is looking forward, as well, to working with other community leaders to protect the natural beauty of the county.

“Let’s not forget about our recreation centers; let’s not forget about those nature trails that we can work on,” McCutcheon stated. “It’s all about quality of life.”

McCutcheon views the task of leading Madison County as a team effort requiring the collaboration of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley, the chambers of commerce throughout the whole county, the leaders of the area’s universities, and the school district superintendents, among other community leaders.

McCutcheon is finishing the remaining two years of Dale Strong’s term as chairman. The seat will be up for election in 2024.