Spotlight: Mac McCutcheon

Prior to becoming Chairman of the Madison County

Commission, Mac McCutcheon worked in law

enforcement and served in the Alabama State

Legislature for sixteen years. From 2016 to 2023, he

successfully led the state as Speaker of the House of

Representatives for two terms.

For McCutcheon, leaving the state legislature was

a deeply personal decision. As he neared the end of

his term, he and his wife began to think about time

– how much of it they had left and how they wanted

to spend it. That conversation, he said, made him

rethink his priorities.

But when the opportunity came to serve as Madison

County Commission Chairman in 2023, it turned

out to be exactly what he was looking for. “It was a

perfect fit for me. I could still do public service, which

is where my heart is, but I can also be home, sleep in

my own bed at night,” McCutcheon said.

When asked about his first term as Chairman, he said

stepping into local government was a change of pace

and focus. “The more I got into this role, the more I

really enjoyed it. It’s not so much about the political

side. It’s about quality of life and meeting people with

their everyday needs. And I love that,” McCutcheon

shared.

Under his leadership, the commission has handled

the county’s extraordinary growth well. During his

first term, he worked with the district commissioners

to shift the allocation of budget dollars, prioritizing

infrastructure needs from a county-wide perspective

rather than dividing resources by district. “We’re

growing to the point in Madison County where we’re

all connected now. We need to look at the county as

a whole,” McCutcheon said.

Growth continues to be a significant theme during

McCutcheon’s tenure as chairman. However, with it

comes several complexities, particularly the rapid

pace of commercial and housing developments. “With

the traffic we have on our county roads now, having

a truck that just stops every few hundred feet and has

to pick up trash and move along the way is very

challenging. It’s very expensive, but the service

provided is essential to the quality of life for

Madison County residents,” McCutcheon said.

McCutcheon grew up north of Huntsville in the

farming community of Toney and was a farmer

before he entered law enforcement. Like many North

Alabama natives, McCutcheon is astonished at

how much the area has transformed and developed

throughout the years. “Now you drive by, and there

are buildings and houses and concrete and asphalt

and all of that on that land that you farmed, it kind of

sets you back a little, and you think, my goodness,

look how we’ve changed,” he said.

Still, he’s proud of how the city and county have grown

while keeping its sense of community. “We have

some very educated people in this community.

We’ve got the military. We’ve still got that southern

flavor and that old hospitality and all the things that

come with that,” McCutcheon said.

He continued, “It’s kind of a blended community,

which makes us very, very special. I think the sky’s

the limit for us if we just continue to work together.”

Looking to the future, McCutcheon believes the key

to success for Madison County lies in unity.

“Our community will only be as good as the people

who live here. If we accept each other, work

together, and respect one another, we can continue

to grow and still hold onto the things that matter

most,” he said.