Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill will be joining Waggoner Engineering as the Director of Public Policy and Strategic Markets for Alabama. Waggoner has its headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, and more than ten office locations across six states and Washington, D.C.
Merrill’s Executive Assistant and Scheduler, Karen Guthrie, will also join the Waggoner team as the Administrator of Alabama and Florida.
“I want to take this time to thank the people of Alabama for giving me the opportunity to serve as Alabama’s 53rd Secretary of State for the last eight years. As the longest-serving Republican Secretary of State in Alabama history, it has been my honor to preside over the safest and most secure elections in the United States. Alabama is recognized as the gold standard in election administration by Concerned Women for Good Government, The Heritage Foundation, and the University of Southern California,” said Secretary Merrill. “Since I have been your Secretary, we have registered more than 2.2 million voters and now have a state record of 3.7 million voters. We have broken every record in voter registration and voter participation in Alabama. We have made it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Alabama!”
In 2021, Secretary Merrill started the Voter Fraud Reform Task Force. The task force consisted of 15 members, including the Secretary of State as the Chairman. The task force’s goal was to examine voter fraud in Alabama and assess the penalties for voter fraud violations.
“In the area of business services, we have reduced the wait time from a seven to nine months delay to a 24-hour turnaround for the last six and one-half years, and we have done so with 25% fewer employees (49 down to 36) because we are no longer moving at the speed of government, but at the speed of business.
“Refusing an appropriation from the General Fund and introducing other efficiencies, we have saved you millions of dollars over the last eight years. We are excited to leave this time of public service and enter the private sector once again. Thank you for your support and encouragement as I have seen you during my visits in your counties every year over the last ten years, and I look forward to continuing to see you in my new role.”
Merrill is a graduate of Cleburne County High School and The University of Alabama. After college, Merrill worked in several business roles, including as Director of Business Development for the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama in 1993-94 and the Director of Community Relations and Community Education for the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education from 1994-2010. In 2010, he served as the State House Rep. for District 62. In 2014, John was elected as Alabama’s Secretary of State. He and his wife Cindy have two grown children, Brooks and Allie Grace.
